One Night
by Applegirl3223
Summary: Itachi gets a young woman pregnant before joining Akatsuki but he doesnt find out until a few years later when he and Kisame meet a lost little girl. Will he man up and accept it or pretend like it never happened?
1. Natara

**Summary- **After killing his family Itachi wanders around for a bit, having not decided what to do next. He meets a young woman and on his final night in the town he gets her pregnant, unknown to him. Fast forward four years and a half years. Akatsuki is getting closer to achieving their goal. As Kisame and Itachi travel through the Land of Fire they make a startling discovery, a lost little girl who looks just like Itachi and can even access the Sharigan. That's not all they find out when they finally get the little girl home.

**A note from me-** In this chapter Itachi is seventeen and the girl is eighteen. Itachi had killed his family a couple years before my story but he doesn't join Akatsuki until at the end of this chapter. The word killed is in parentheses for reasons that will be obvious in later chapters. This chapter moves fast so keep up

Itachi Uchiha didn't know where he was going. He had been walking for days with no destination in mind. Having 'killed' his entire family a couple of years before he hasnt decided what to do next _I need somewhere to rest…Sasuke_ he thinks of his little brother. Deciding not to dwell in the past he spots a small village ahead and decides to stay there for a while. Inside the town he finds a tea shop. He stops when he gets inside and looks around. People are chatting and laughing. The place is crowded. A young woman with light brown hair and a blue kimono comes up to him

"Sir would you like a seat?" He nods "Come this way" She weaves pass the many tables and comes to one in a corner with a window "Im sorry sir but this is the best we can do. As you can probably tell, we just opened and have been packed the past few days, but will this do?" Itachi nods again "Okay, have a seat and I'll be back in a minute" She smiles then walks away. He sat and closed his eyes _Sasuke, I wonder if he's ok. He'll probably come after me in a few years. He doesn't understand and probably never will. Akatsuki…this is their fault or at least their leaders but I cant think about that now. Whether I want to be or not Im expected to join them. At least I'll have something to do _"Sir, Sir" a voice interrupts his thoughts. He opens his eyes to see the young woman back again. "Im so sorry sir but all our tables are filled and someone came in with a reservation they made weeks ago. I don't want you to leave so would it be ok if this person shared a table with you? I already asked them if they minded. They said no" She looks like shes about to cry so Itachi nods again then turns to look out the window. "Thank you so much sir. I'll give you a discount on whatever you order" She bows then hurries off to get the customer. Itachi frowns. He had wanted to be alone but that wouldn't be happening.

"Here you are ma'am, I'll be back in a minute" Itachi can tell someone sits across from him but he doesn't feel like being bothered so he says nothing.

"You look depressed, are you? Cuz there are doctors and meds for that type of thing" Itachi turns to see a caramel skinned young woman smiling at him. Her dark hair was tied back and bangs fell on her face. She wore a simple yukata and had large hoop earrings in her ears. Itachi didn't say anything, instead he turned back to the window. "Well that's rude. If you don't want to talk just say so"

"I don't want to talk"

"Whatever" mumbling lower she said "This is why I don't like the Land of Fire"

"Here's some tea to start out with" the woman came back and sat cups, saucers and a teapot on the table. She poured a little in each cup then said

"Would you two like anything to eat? We have some of the best food in the country"

"That's a big boast" the other woman said

"I know but we do. Our head chef has served food to royalty and his cooking skills are very well respected"

"Ummm…how bout you bring whatever is the cheapest on the menu" Without noticing a slight smile appeared on Itachi's face

"Uhh…ok sure. What about you sir?"

"Same thing" The woman scratched her head then shrugged her shoulders and went off to get the food. After a few minutes Itachi looked back across the table. The dark haired girl had fallen asleep at the table. Itachi drank his tea then got up. The server raced over to him

"Sir I hope you aren't leaving because of me" She had a scared look on her face.

"No Im not. You can cancel the orders" Then without another word he picked up the other girl and started to leave. The server opened the door for him and smiled. She wished all strangers were as nice as him.

Itachi had found a nice inn and rented a room. It was on the second floor at the end of the hall. After getting into the room he put the girl in one of the beds then sat on the other one _What am I doing? I don't have time for this, I need to go_ He stood up preparing to leave when he heard

"I should've never drank that stuff last night, I still feel sick" Itachi looked over to the bed. The girl was awake with her hand to her head. She finally noticed Itachi. Standing on the bed she shouted

"Did we do anything?!" It took Itachi a minute to get what she was saying then he frowned and said

"I wouldn't waste my time, you fell asleep at the restaurant so I brought you here"

"Oh, wait a minute did you just say you wouldn't waste your time? I cant decide if you're a jerk or a nice guy" She put a finger to her chin and acted like she was thinking. Itachi rolled his eyes then turned to leave again "Whats your name?" she calls after him

"None of your business" He says then walks out of the room.

"I can think of a few names I'd like to call him" She mumbled

The sun was just starting to rise as Itachi sat in a tree, half sleep when he caught a rock. Without opening his eyes he said

"What do you want?"

"Wow I didn't expect you to catch that but do you wanna get something to eat? I have to pay you back" He opened his eyes and looked down to see the girl from yesterday. She wore dress pants with a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned so he could see a white tank top underneath. Her hair was pulled back and her hands were on her hips. Her brown eyes never left his. He threw the rock at her head but she moved her head to the side avoiding it. "Come on I'll leave you alone if you let me buy you breakfast"

"Really?"

"Yep" He sighed then jumped down in front of her.

"So is 'none of my business' your nickname?" She smiled

"Itachi" He said then started to walk away

"Well Itachi, Im Natara"

"I don't care, after this I'll never see you again"  
"What are you PMSin or something?" She ran to catch up with him.

It had been two months since Itachi had come to the small town. Everyone knew him. He had gotten an apartment with Natara. He didn't know why she had stayed but he got a feeling it had something to do with her job. She never talked about it but she'd disappear for hours then come back like nothing was wrong, not that he cared. He just thought it was strange, she said she wasn't a ninja but she wouldnt elaborate on exactly what she did. He'd even tried to follow her once but she caught him. That surprised him considering how good he was. He gave that up and spent his days practicing different jutsus in the forest. Natara would complain he wasn't doing anything to help pay the bills, which he wasn't but he didn't care about that either. All that mattered was Akatsuki. Their leader had finally tracked him down and was trying to persuade him to join them. Itachi wasn't sure yet so the guy said he'd be back at the end of the next week for his answer. That was one week ago, he still hadn't reached a decision. He was looking out the window when the door flew open. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was.  
"Natara I wish you wouldn't do that"

"Do what?" She walked inside with a bag full of food. Her bracelets on her arms jingled as she put the bag on the couch "I was inside this book store looking for cooking recipes, I found one then went up to the counter, as Im getting ready to pay the guy this alarm goes off and everyone congratulates me for being the 1,000th customer" She reaches into the bag and pulls out a book "I got this Icha Icha thing as a prize. From what I've read so far its garbage, you wanna read it?" Itachi doesn't say anything. She sighs then drops the book and walks over to him. "Whats been up with you lately? You've been in a bad mood since last week"

"Im fine"

"No you're not. I thought we were friends"

"I guess you thought wrong, especially since I never said that we were"

"You're a jerk Itachi. I don't know why I still deal with you" Itachi turns to face her. Their eyes locked. He doesn't know when it started to happen but lately the way he felt about Natara was changing, maybe that's why he wasn't ready to join Akatsuki yet. Natara started to hiccup. She did that anytime she was nervous which seemed to be every time she was around Itachi. She moved across the room to put the bag of food away, hiccupping the entire time. Itachi went back to looking out the window.

Later that night

"Hey Itachi! I want you to give me an opinion!" Natara shouted. After she received no answer she slid the door open, it was dark. She looked around, but didn't see him. As her eyes adjusted she moved farther into the room.

"What?" She turned around. Itachi was behind her and he didn't look happy

"I just wanted you tell me how I look. I have to go to a…ummm…yeah, its for my job" Natara almost told him what she did. She kicked herself mentally for it. Itachi's eyes narrowed

"I don't care"

"C'mon do this and I wont bother you anymore" he rolled his eyes remembering the first time she told him that. He looked her up and down. She wore a dark blue kimono with matching heels. Her hair was up in a almost neat bun. Sliver earring dangled from her ears and she wore no makeup. "What do ya think?"

"You look fine"

"Maybe I shouldn't go"

"Why?"

"I…think…we…should….do…something" She hiccupped between each word. While she was trying to get her words out, thoughts ran through Itachi's head _She's the reason I haven't left yet, but I cant stay here any longer. I need to leave tomorrow_. He had told Natara this earlier which may have been the reason she wanted to stay with him. Itachi decided he'd probably regret later what he was about to do but he put his hand under Natara's chin.

"Itachi…what…are…you…doing?"

"Nothing" He whispered then kissed her.

It was early in the morning. Itachi looked over to the Natara sleeping next to him. He watched her sleep for a few minutes. Sighing he got up to leave. It'd be easier with her asleep. 


	2. Twins?

Itachi and Kisame had been walking since early that morning. They were on their way to Konoha, coming from just capturing another tailed beast. Both were hot and tired, Kisame showed more than his partner since he also had to carry his huge sword. Suddenly Itachi stopped. He held out a hand for Kisame to do the same. The two stood listening. They had been standing for ten minutes when Kisame started to get impatient

"Itachi, lets go. We're wasting time and this sword is killing me!" Itachi didn't say anything. Kisame got ready to walk on when a little girl rushed out of the forest onto the road in front of them. She was panting and didn't seem to notice them at first. Then she looked up. She had dark brown curly hair that was everywhere on her head except in the ponytail that it had started out in. She had a light brown complexion and hazel eyes. She wore a once white summer dress. It was now covered in dirt, most of her was. She held a stuffed dog in one arm and had sliver bracelets dangling from the other. Kisame was immediately surprised by how much the girl looked like Itachi. He looked over to him to see if he could see a reaction but as always he showed no emotion.

"Ummm…you guys might wanna get back a little" the girl said.

"Why?" Kisame asked

"Cuz someone's standing in front of you, he's been after me for awhile" Kisame laughed

"Is he your imaginary friend?"

"No! Just cuz you cant see him doesn't mean he's not there" She put her free hand on her hip. "So ya gonna move?"

"Alright kid. How far back do you want us to go?"

"Just a few feet" The two moved back.

"Thanks" She closed her eyes then opened them. Kisame gasped. Her eyes were red. She had the Sharigan.

"Itachi…" he started to say

"Not now" he responded. The girl did a few hand signs then blew fire out of her mouth. It came straight for the two but it didn't hit them, instead it hit something not too far in front.

"The kid was telling the truth" Kisame whispered "I cant see anything but theres definitely something there" A puff of smoke appeared in front of them. Kisame got the feeling that whatever was just there was gone now. He'd never seen a shinobi able to make themselves completely invisible like that. He said so to the little girl who said

"What makes you think they're shinobi?"

"What else would it be?"

"Im not sure. I cant see them but I can sense them. My momma can see them"

"Yeah, well where is your mom kid?"

"Don't know" she mumbled and looked down at the ground

"Well you seem lost so since Im in a good mood, my partner and I will take you home, right Itachi?" He nodded his head.

"Thanks" She looked up and smiled again "Im Natsuki"

"Im Kisame and the other guy is Itachi" He said doubting she had ever heard of Akatsuki or it members. Most who knew of them were ANBU or other shinobi but Natsuki wasn't one of them so he felt he didn't have anything to worry about. "So when you were talking about whoever was after you, you mentioned 'them' like theres more than one" He said as they started walking

"There are but Im not sure how many"

"You seem a little young to be fighting like you were, how old are you?"

"Four. My momma says Im smart for my age"

"Four, really?" He gave Itachi a side glance. He knew that he had joined four and a half years ago. It'd be possible that the kid is his even though he hadn't said anything about it.

"Whats wrong with your friend?" Natsuki asked

"Oh he's just quiet"

"Like my brother"

"You have a brother?" Itachi asked, breaking his silence

"Yep" She nodded "We're twins"

"Interesting" Itachi mumbled

* * *

The sun had started to sink in the sky. Seeing Natsuki grow more tired, Itachi picked her up. As he carried her he thought of Natara _She looks so much like me yet has Natara's personality. Could she really be my daughter?_ As if reading his thoughts Kisame said 

"She's yours Itachi and don't try to deny it. She looks so much like you. Do you want to tell me who her mother is?"

"Long story"

"Shorten it" Under normal circumstances Itachi would never talk about his personal life but then again this wasn't normal so he told a short version about Natara. When he finished Kisame didn't say anything for a minute then he finally said

"No offense but you don't seem like the loving, fatherly type so what will you do?

"Im not sure yet" Unknown to both Natsuki was listening.

* * *

The group made it to a town the next morning, having slept in the forest the past night. Natsuki sat on Kisame's shoulders, wearing his hat 

"Hey don't you guys get hot wearing those huge clothes and hats?"

"Sometimes and don't mess it up kid. Do you know where we are?"

"Yeah" He pulled her off and took his hat back "Come on, I have to find…" Before she could finish someone shouted

"Young lady where have you been?!" They looked to see a pale woman with glasses and ninja attire on,watching Natsuki "And who are these people with you?" She walked up to them

"Ummm…I was lost yesterday and they helped me"

"If that's the case then thank you" She bowed a little "Im Natty's teacher"

"Natty?" Kisame asked

"Yes, that's her nickname. Im Mrs. Hyabusa. The two of you are more than welcome to come with me. I need to escort her home. She always seems to get distracted or in trouble" As Natsuki hurried in front of them Mrs. Hyabusa lowered her voice

"I know the two of you are Akatsuki. I don't know why you'd choose to 'help' her but you better not have done anything to her"

"We didn't. She was lost so we brought her here. In spite of what you think, not all Akatsuki members kill or attack needlessly" Kisame growled at her

"Hmph, whatever you say"

"Where's her mother?"

"I don't know, she disappeared some months ago. Natty and her brother ended up with her mothers friend"

"Did it have something to do with her job?" Itachi asked. A surprised look came over Mrs. Hyabusa's face

"Actually some think it might've"

"What exactly did she do?" Kisame remembered Itachi mentioning that Natara had some kind of secret job.

"Don't know about that either. She did a good job at keeping it secret. Many of the town shinobi began to suspect she might work for some secret organization"

"You're positive she wasn't a ninja?"

"Yes, she knew the techniques but the truth is she used many different fighting styles" She started to slow her pace then stopped outside of a small house. Natsuki was already knocking on the door. "Aunt Kaori open up" The door flew open and a woman a few years younger than Mrs. Hyabusa stood in the doorway. She was tanned with jet black hair. She also wore ninja attire with a sword at her side. She looked angry.

"This is Kaori Sato, Natara's best friend" Mrs. H announced. Kaori crossed her arms

"Natty get inside" Sensing something was wrong the little girl did what she was told "Rose please tell me why you brought Akatsuki members to my house?"

"They brought Natty back to the village"

"We found her in the forest" Kisame took his hat off "We have such a bad reputation Itachi"

"So we do" Itachi took his hat off. A gasp escaped from Mrs. H and Kaori. They saw the resemblance between him and Natsuki.

"Unbelievable" Mrs. H finally said "I never thought their father would be someone like you" Kaori walked up to Itachi not saying anything. Then without warning she slapped him.

"You have some guts Itachi Uchiha!" She yelled "You sleep with my friend then walk out on her. You didn't even go to see her at least once but I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a guy who killed his own family! Theres no way you'd be a good father, hell would have to freeze over then melt then freeze over again!"

"Kaori calm down, people are starting to look" Rose Hyabusa put her hand on Kaori's shoulder

"I don't have to calm down! He has no idea of what Natara went through, now he pops up and its only by accident! I don't care if everyone else is afraid of him, Im not. It'd be better for you to leave than for those kids to see you, its not like you have any intention of staying. I need some space" With that she stormed away from the group. Kisame scratched his head. He'd never seen anyone talk to Itachi like that. He glanced over at him. Itachi's face was red from where she'd slapped him but he didn't say anything. Kisame was also amazed that Itachi didn't block it. As good as he was he should've been able to sense it.

"Itachi?" Kisame said

"She's right" Itachi answered without looking at him. Rose raised an eyebrow "Where is my son?"

* * *

In their room Natsuki was coaching her brother, Nik. He had the same dark brown curly hair and eyes. He was more quiet than his sister and tended to daydream a lot. 

"Ok Nik, Daddy is out there and you have to impress him so he'll want to stay with us"

"How do you know he's our dad?" He started drawing again in his notebook

"I heard him talkin with his friend. They thought I was sleep" She said proudly

"Whatever, I still wont believe it 'til I see him"

"You never believe anything I tell you!"

"That's cuz you aggerate at times, even momma said so"

"Its EXaggerate"

"That's what I said"

"No you didn't"  
"Yes I did" He put his notebook down and gave her a mean look

"Im gonna tell Daddy you're givin me mean looks!" She whined

"Natsuki" Natty looked over at the doorway. Itachi stood there without his Akatsuki robes. She didn't know what to do

"That's our dad? He looks meaner than Uncle Tony when someone wakes him up" Nik said referring to Natara's brother. Itachi walked over and sat on one of the beds

"Come here both of you" The two walked over to him. He looked at his son

"This is Nik Da…" Natsuki caught herself. She looked down at the floor.

"You can call me that" Natsuki looked up and smiled. She threw her arms around Itachi who put an arm around her. Nik didn't know what to do so Itachi pulled him closer and hugged him too _This changes a lot_ he thought.

* * *

Meanwhile in the small dining room Kisame and Rose sat at the table, neither saying anything at first. 

"I cant imagine Itachi as a father" Rose said

"You're not the only one" Kisame answered

"Do you think he can do it?"

"If he wants to I guess" He shrugged his shoulders "Usually he's so cold and uncaring but maybe this will change him. When did Natara leave?"

"Almost three months ago. We sent out search teams and even went to the Hokage in the hidden village to ask for help, so far nothing"

"Why'd she leave in the first place?"

"She had mentioned a sick uncle days before she left, so when she finally did leave she said it was to check on him. What was his name?" She thought for a minute "Oh yeah, it was Sam"

"Where does her family live?"

"Im not sure, actually I don't know her as well as you might think because she moved her only a year ago, when the kids were three/ three and a half. They became my students when they turned four"

"Then why do you think it has to do with her job?"

"I never said that I thought that, other shinobi have come up with that one. They think it because no one ever knew what she really did except…"

"Except what?"

"Kaori may know, the two of them were very good friends but if she knew she hasn't said anything" Resting his chin in his hands Kisame said

"You know I think that if you find out what Natara did, you'll find out what happened to her because I seriously doubt she has a sick uncle"

**A note from me-** I just threw a clue in there about what Natara's job is, did you see it? Ha! I never mentioned in the summary that Itachi'd have two kids, surprise! Anyways hope you liked this chapter cuz the next one may take a little while since Im gonna make it longer. In the next chapters it'll be explained where Natara was before she made it to the village and there'll be peaks at what her family, like the Tony guy mentioned earlier, are like. And dont be too confused by the invisble person Natty was fighting, that'll be explained later too. Also Itachi isnt as heartless or evil as everyone thinks. So stay tuned


	3. Intermission

Sakura had felt like she was going crazy lately. She was starting to develop feelings for a certain someone and she just knew he was starting to feel the same but something was keeping them apart. She had turned down dinner with Naruto and Sai in order to think about it. So now she found herself walking around aimlessly thinking. She remembered the last conversation she had with him earlier that day outside his apartment

"_I've had these feeling for awhile and they're not going away, so stop acting like they will"_

"_Its just a phase" Kakashi said "You WILL grow out of it"_

"_Come on, I've noticed the way you look at me. You don't see me as some immature student anymore" Kakashi sighed_

"_Even if that's true, it would never work"_

"_Yes it would if you gave it a chance"_

"_Sakura don't do this to me"_

"_Would it really hurt to try?"_

"_Your 18th birthday is only a few weeks away, so seriously think about this and then we'll talk" He disappeared in a poof of smoke_

Sakura knew that if they started dating it might be looked down upon but she also knew that she was a young woman now and could handle whatever may come her way when she gave Kakashi her answer. She knew he wanted to be with her just as much as she with him but something was holding him back. It had started to rain so she hurried back to her apartment. What she saw on the porch to the entrance of the building made her gasp. A caramel complexioned woman sat at the door. Her dark hair was messy and everywhere. What seemed to be remnants of black pants were torn and dirty. Her shirt wasn't much better. It barely covered her because it was torn up so bad. The woman was covered in mud and kept holding her sides. Sakura crept closer. She knelt down and moved the woman's arms. Underneath she saw blood and cuts, huge cuts that looked deep. Inspecting the rest of her body Sakura saw the woman was bruised everywhere. She couldn't tell the full extent of her injuries but Sakura began to heal her. After a few minutes Sakura noticed it wasn't working _That's weird, this has never happened before._ She put her fingers on the woman's wrist to feel for a pulse _Its slowing down! I'll have to take her to the hospital_ Just as Sakura was preparing to lift the woman she felt a familiar presence behind her

"Sakura what are you doing?" Kakashi asked. Before she could answer he said "How long has she been here?"

"I don't know but I cant heal her for some reason so Im taking her to the hospital"

"I'll do it, you wont be fast enough" Before she could protest he picked the woman up then disappeared. Sakura sighed

* * *

Tsunade was in the hospital room watching the mystery woman. She waited with Shizune and Sakura. It had been an hour ago that Kakashi had brought the woman here, Tsunade had been summoned and she had tried to heal the woman but she couldn't. It puzzled everyone. The doctors, including the Hokage, did what they could. Now she and the other two waited for a shinobi to bring her back word. A poof of smoke appeared in the doorway. The man bowed 

"What do you have?" Tsuande asked still watching the woman

"Well not much ma'am. It seems she wasn't at the doorstep before it rained and we couldn't find blood or any kind of trail showing where she came from."

"This is frustrating" The Hokage stomped her foot "She had no shinobi weapons on her, in fact she doesn't appear to be one at all yet she appeared out of no where, with no ID" Turning to the ninja she said "Didn't you find anything?"

"We did but it will sound strange"

"Spit it out!" She snapped

"After eliminating Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake's footprints there was an unidentified set of prints that didn't match the woman's shoes. My men and I left to go check out something else, when we came back the footprints were gone"

"What do you mean 'gone'?"

"Just what I said ma'am. They were gone. We had told all of the residents of the apartment building to use the side way to get out and it had stopped raining so water couldn't have washed it away."

"This is crazy" Tsunade moaned "Is that all?"

"Yes ma'am"

"Then go" She waved him away. He bowed then left. Looking at the two girls she said "You two can leave, I don't expect you to stay"

"But what about you?" Shizune asked

"Im staying here"

"You sure you want us to leave? I mean…"

"Yes Im sure, now go" Shizune got up. She was used to Tsunade's mood swings

"Come on Sakura"

"Ummm…ok"

"Sakura" Tsunade stopped her. Shizune had already left "Choose wisely about Kakashi"

"How did you know?" She didn't remember telling the Hokage about this or anyone for that matter

"Im not stupid" She turned back to the woman. Sakura wanted to ask her another question but decided she'd do it later. With a final glance at the Hokage she left the room.

* * *

"Hokage, Hokage please wake up" Tsunade heard a voice calling her. She opened her eyes to see the womans doctor standing over her. She had fallen asleep on a couch in the hospital lobby. 

"What is it?" She rubbed her eyes

"It's the woman" She sat up

"What about her?"

"Her eyes are slightly open and she seems to be trying to say something. I think she's still half out of it."

"Thank you" Tsunade got up and ran to the room. She walked to the bed. The woman's eyes were fluttering like she was trying to wake up and her lips were moving. Tsunade leaned her head down to listen.

"Must…kill…them" she whispered

"Must kill them?" Tsunade lifted her head up

"That's all she's been saying" A voice said

"Shizune I told you…"

"I know what you told me but I decided you couldn't watch her all the time. So I came to help. She's been saying the same thing for at least ten minutes"

"It looks like shes trying to wake up but cant" Just as she said that, the woman appeared to stop breathing "Shizune get the doctors!" She screamed. Shizune did what she was told while Tsunade put all her years of medic training to use.

* * *

Outside of a huge mansion, in a tree, a young man sat watching the entrance. It was dark and he was tired. He was brown skinned, with a close hair cut and skinny yet muscular frame. He wore a black tuxedo with matching shoes. His brown eyes scanned the area around him impatiently. 

"Watching my grandma snore is more exciting than this" A voice said. The man rolled his eyes and spoke into his mic that was clipped inside his tux

"Shut up Red, we're supposed to keep this line free" Red or Daniel Williams was one of his best friends. He was a red-headed guy with some freckles who rather be skateboarding than doing a mission. It was obvious where he got his nickname from

"I know but we've been sittin here forever" He whined

"You're such a baby" An accented voice said "My dog whines less"

"I wasn't talkin to you idiot" Red said

"But Joaquin is right, quit complainin" Joaquin Ortiz was another good friend. He was born in America but raised in Puerto Rico. He had a habit of picking on Red

"Hey Dimples!" The man rolled his eyes again. He'd gotten that name when he was younger because of the dimples he had when he'd smile. All of his mom's friends had said how handsome he'd be when he got older

"What?"

"We have been watching this place forever, we shouldve stayed inside with Eric"

"What? Who called me?" A squeaky voice came over the mic. Eric Roberts was a messy blonde haired guy who was a tech geek. He was inside the mansion, where a party was going on.

"No body called you"

"Someone did, I heard them…wait a minute. Guys our target is starting to leave. It appears he's going out back"

"Got it" Joaquin said

"Finally" Red added

"We're on our way" the man said. The three met at the back. There was a huge garden with fountains and statues everywhere.

"Real nice" Red said lookin around. All three were in black tuxedos. Joaquin yawned then ran a hand through his short, brown hair. Red sat on the ground, looking at his watch. Finally they saw a lanky, blonde with glasses come out.

"Where is he?" Red stood up

"Don't worry" He dug in his pocket and pulled out a small disc "It wasn't hard to get this from him"

"That's it?!" Joaquin asked "Unbelievable, I knew all of us weren't needed on this mission"

"Speaking of that, I was thinking about how much sense it didn't make to send all of us. This was easy. A rookie could've handled this without a problem" Eric said

"You know what I think?" Red asked

"What do you think?" His friends rolled their eyes. Red tended to think everything was a conspiracy "I think our supervisor is hidin somethin from us"

"You've always thought that" Eric sighed

"Yeah but come on, look who we work for. That's gotta send off somethin"

"Lets talk about this later. Im tired" Joaquin started to walk away. Eric followed him. Red started to go but noticed his friend wasn't moving, he seemed to be thinking

"Tony, you all right?"

"Huh? Oh yeah Im fine. Just thinking bout my sister" Anthony Stone answered

"Man stop worrying about Natara, she'll be fine"

"But Im startin to think maybe you're right this time, maybe our supervisor is hiding somethin and I think it has to do with her"

"Seriously? You wanna check it out when we get home?"

"Yeah"

"Hey ladies, some of us would like to reach the hotel sometime this year" Joaquin shouted to them

"Come on" Red and Tony ran to catch up with their friends.

* * *

Sakura had agreed with Shizune to help the Hokage watch the woman. She sat in a chair near the bed. After it seemed the non breathing scare Tsunade hadn't wanted to leave but Sakura and Shizune, with help from the stff, convinced her to go home and take a nap. Now Sakura sat watching 

"How long have you been here?" Kakashi walked into the room

"Only a few minutes, I don't understand why Lady Tsunade has taken such an interest in this girl. Many people come through the hospital with no ID . I don't understand"

"This is a little different Sakura"

"I know but…wait" She leaned her head down "I think shes saying something"

"What is it?" Sakura paused then answered

"She's mumbling something about a natty and nik" She leaned her head back down

"That's strange"

"Maybe those are names, she keeps repeating them" Kakashi scratched his head then grabbed another chair and sat next to Sakura

"_You're what?!" Natara's mother yelled_

"_Pregnant" It had been a few months since that night with Itachi. Almost a month later she started feeling sick and ate more than she usually did. After going to the doctor she found out she was pregnant. She could almost see the smoke coming out of her mom's ears_

"_Baby how did this happen?" She whispered into the phone_

"_Lets just say I met this guy"_

"_Well is 'this guy' gonna help take care of it?" Natara hesitated "I guess that's a no. Sweetie you need to come home"_

"_I haven't finished my mission"_

"_I know but Im sure the higher ups will understand, cuz if they don't Im gonna have to pay them a visit" Natara giggled_

"_Whatever mom, do me a favor"_

"_Whats that?"_

"_Let me tell daddy and my brothers"_

"_Baby it'd be better if I did it. All of them are gonna be ready to kill somebody. You already know how protective they are of you"_

"_I know but let me do this please"_

"_Ok, when do you want to tell 'em? Your dad went out of town and wont be back for a couple of days"_

"_I'll do it when I get home"_

"_Which will be…"_

"_In a few days"_

"_Alright"_

"_Talk to you later mom"_

"_Love you"_

"_Love you too" She hung up the phone and rubbed her stomach. She had expected her mother to be angrier and was surprised by her calmness. She already knew she was gonna give the baby her last name, in case she came back she didn't want people asking questions. She thought of Itachi as a tear slid down her face. She didn't have the courage to tell him. She wiped her eyes and got up. She didn't have time to cry, she had more important things to do._

_Seven months later_

_Natara was in a hospital bed holding her two babies. She never expected twins. Her family was inside the room making noise and going crazy over the babies._

"_Let me hold one" Her younger brother Anthony said. He was a couple of years younger than her. _

"_Boy, how bout you ask instead of demandin stuff" Her dad hit him upside his head_

"_Ow pops"_

"_You're sensitive" Her other brother Marcus said. Anthony and Marcus were twins and tended to get into trouble a lot. Natara's mother opened the blinds_

"_Why they keep it so dark in here?" Marcus hissed and covered his face  
"The light burns"_

"_Stop that" his dad hit him. Natara laughed_

"_Where's Julius and Jazmin?" referring to her older brother and his fiancé._

"_They should be here any minute" Her dad looked at his watch_

"_We're here!" Everyone turned to the door to see the Williams family. Mr. Williams and his wife had brought flowers. Red immediately went over to Tony_

"_Congrats" Mrs. Williams said smiling. Natara had always thought she was one of the happiest people she'd ever met. _

"_Thanks"_

"_Where're the others?" Her husband asked taking his jacket off_

"_The Roberts will be a little late and you know how the Ortiz' like to make an entrance" Mr. Stone said_

"_What did you name them?' Mrs. W asked_

"_Natsuki and Nik"_

"_That's nice"_

"_I've always wondered how your brother ended up being named after famous Romans and all you got was…"_

"_Shut your mouth Daniel!" His mom gave him an evil glare. Most people would've taken the hint but Red ignore it_

"_Im just saying, where'd Natara come from anyway?"_

"_Her middle name is Latin" Marucus said_

"_Yeah but she's not named after a Roman person. All of you have Latin middle names" Natara's mother was a college professor who taught Latin. When she had her kids she decided to show how much she loved the language and the people who spoke it._

"_Nancy get a hold of your boy, Im bout to hit him" Mrs. Stone said_

"_Ha1 I'll help you" Natara looked down at her babies. She hoped one day soon that she'd be able to tell Itachi._

"She just whispered Itachi!" Sakura said

"Are you sure?" Kakashi leaned closer. Sure enough he heard her say it

"Do you think he had something to do with this?"

"I wouldn't be surprised" Kakashi said getting up. He needed to tell the Hokage.

* * *

"Daddy are you really gonna read us a story?" Natsuki smiled up at him from her bed. Itachi sighed. It was his first night with the kids and they wanted him to read them a story, well Natty did anyway. Nik was drawing in his notebook. He sat on the edge of Natty's bed 

"Want story do you want me to tell?" He asked

"This one" She pulled a book out from under her pillow. He took it and frowned when he read the title

"The Three Little Pigs?" Natty nodded her head then grabbed her stuffed dog and snuggled under her blanket. As Itachi read the story he found it didn't make any sense. He stopped at the part where all three of the pigs were inside the brick house. He decided to make it more realistic

"After finding he couldn't get inside, the wolf stopped to think"

"I don't remember this part" Natty whispered

"'Little pigs Im sorry for how I acted. I only want to be your friend' he said 'Will you forgive me' The pigs peeked out the door. Seeing the wolf cry, they decided to forgive him and even invite him to dinner. They opened the door 'Wolf, that's ok. We forgive you. You should come eat dinner with us' The wolf smiled 'Really? Thanks. I want to cook' 'That's fine, what do you want to cook?' 'You!' the wolf growled. Then after doing the necessary seals he performed a fire jutsu, cooking the pigs. He ate as much as he wanted and lived happily ever after" Itachi closed the book and looked at Natsuki who was peeking out from under her blankets.

"Ummm…Daddy that didn't sound right"

"That's more realistic" He got up and turned off the lights "Good night" he said as he slid the door shut

"Nik"

"Yeah?"

"Im scared"

"Me too"

**A note from me- **So this didn't take as long as I thought it would but I hope you liked it. Natara Stone is her full name in case you missed that. That part that's in italics in the middle is where Natara is dreaming about her pregnancy. Hope it wasn't too confusing. Has anyone figured out what she does yet or do I need to drop more clues? I dont know how long I'll be able to post chapters this fast so enjoy it while you can because sometimes I can get writers block for a minute. Anyways stay tuned for the next chap.


	4. A Mission for Itachi

Itachi woke up early the next morning. Just as he sat up in bed, his door slid open

"Good morning sunshine" Kaori stood in the doorway. She wore an ANBU uniform

"Are you going to report me?"

"No, as much as I don't like you Im not gonna do that. Natty and Nik need you. I was just coming to say that I have a mission but I should be back by tonight" She pulled a folded sheet of paper out of her pocket "This is a list of things I usually do for the kids, obviously you'll have to start doing it and…" She pulled a key out of the same pocket "This is the key to Natara's apartment. You can check it out later if you want. I know the kids have wanted to go back there, especially since they had their own rooms" She threw the key to him then pulling out a lighter of yet another pocket she lit the paper on fire then stomped it out

"Why did you do that?"

"Because you need to figure out how to take care of your kids on your own, bye now" She slid his door shut. A frustrated Itachi sat on the edge of his bed wondering what to do next when his door slid open a little and he saw a pair of eyes peek in

"Daddy?"

"Yes Natsuki?"

"Umm…are you gonna help us get ready for school?"

"When do you have to be there?"

"I think by eight-thirty" Itachi looked at the wall clock, it was eight o'clock. He sighed

"Give me a minute"

"Ok" She shut his door

* * *

Itachi, Natsuki and Nik were at the table. He was waiting for them to finish eating their cereal, which was they had been working on for the past ten minutes. Natty was getting her food everywhere while Nik was finished. 

"Daddy Im done, now we have to take a bath" Natty got up and ran out of the room to the bathroom

"That's not fair you went first the last time" Nik yelled then ran after her. Itachi cleaned off the table then went to the bathroom. He saw the door shut and an angry Nik standing outside the door. Deciding that if Natty was anything like her mother she'd be in there for a while so he opened the door. Natty was playing in the water with some kind of bath toys. She looked up

"You wanna play Daddy? You can be rubber ducky captain" She held out a yellow duck to him. Itachi shook his head. Before Natty knew what happened, she was wrapped in a towel and being held by her dad.

"Thanks Dad!" Nik said as raced for the tub. Itachi took his daughter to her room

"Get dressed"

"Momma usually picks out what I wear" She whispered. Sighing again, Itachi went to her drawers trying to find something. He finally pulled out a blue summer dress and shorts for her to wear underneath. While she got dressed, her brother ran into the room

"Get out Nik!" She tried to cover herself

"What?! Why?!"

"Cuz Im getting dressed"

"But Daddy's in here..."

"Its different with him" She stuck out her togue.

"Nik you get dressed in my room"

"Thanks Dad" He grabbed his clothes then gave his sister a mean look before he left. Itachi sat out in the living room waiting. Finally Nik came out and sat beside his dad then Natty came carrying her stuffed dog in one hand and holding a brush in the other.

"Whats that for?" Itachi asked her

"For my hair. You have to brush it for me" For the first time the entire morning Itachi looked at her hair. It was a mass of curliness. He frowned

"Don't panic Dad, Aunt Kaori and mom just put it in two poof balls during the school week" Nik said as he kept drawing in his notebook. Natty walked over and sat on the floor in between Itachi's legs then handed him the brush and two scruncis. He looked at her hair again and then started brushing

"Ow, that hurts" Natty whined

"Stop bein such a baby" Nik answered

"But it hurts, Owwwwww!"

"Hold still" Itachi growled. After five agonizing minutes he said

"Im finished"

"Really?" Natty jumped up and ran to the bathroom to see how her hair looked. When she came back out Nik looked up and started laughing. Natsuki's hair was in a poofball on the top of her head but hair stuck out everywhere. It looked like the wind had been messing it up

"Good job Dad"

"Shut up!"

"Maybe next time you'll sit still, lets go" Itachi got up and headed for the door. The kids grabbed their stuff and followed him. Since Itachi didn't know where the school was, Nik walked in front leading. Ten minutes later he stopped at a small brick building.

"This looks small to be a school" Itachi said

"We rarely have class here, our teacher likes to be outside a lot and theres another building where we train. Bye Dad" Nik said then ran to find his friends. Natty hesitated to leave

"Whats wrong?" He asked

"Will you be here when we get out?" She looked up at him. A very small smile almost escaped from him

"Yes, I promise" Natty smiled

"Ok, bye Daddy!" She ran into the building. Itachi stood there for a minute deciding what to do next. He remembered the key Kaori gave him. He walked back to the house to see if she had left an address. He found Kisame up and eating cereal while reading the newspaper

"How'd it go this morning?" He asked

"Fine"

"Have you decided what to do?" Itachi sat across from him

"Im staying"

"Hmm…well I guess I'll stay too for now. I don't think Kaori will like that"  
"She'll get over it"

"Speaking of which she came to drop off a sheet of paper. She left it in your room. She said something about an address or something" Itachi heard talking coming from the living room

"She didn't leave?"

"No, the phone rang before she could" Kaori poked her head into the kitchen

"Ahh Itachi. I was hoping you were back. You have a phone call" She smirked. Itachi glanced at Kisame then headed to where Kaori was. She smiled then handed him the phone

"Yes?"

"Who is this?" A voice asked

"Itachi"

"Youre the jackass who slept with my sister!" Itachi frowned then looked at Kaori who was trying not to laugh

"Who is this?"

"Anthony, Natara's brother. I can NOT wait til I get there! Im gonna kick your…"

"Who are you talkin to?" Itachi heard another voice ask in the background

"That dude who got my sister pregnant!"

"Seriously?! Yo tell him that we're gonna have some words for him when we get there"

"Don't worry Red, I got this. Hello?"

"Im still here, is that all you wanted?"

"No! Look smart…"

"Who are you talkin to like that Dimples?"

"Shut up Marcus! Cant you see Im havin a conversation? Why you always botherin me anyway? Just cuz we're twins doesn't mean you gotta follow me around"

"I DON'T follow you around. You just mad cuz I beat you in Need for Speed last night, right Red?"

"Don't get me into this" As the three argued Itachi sighed then looked at the clock. He wanted to go to Natara's apartment before it got too late. He heard another voice yell in the background

"What the hell is goin on out here?! Its getting to the point I cant even take a nap in my own home!

"Sorry Pops, Marcus started it"

"No I didn't!"

"I don't care who started it but you better believe if ya'll don't shut up Im gonna finish it!

"Yes sir" The three said together

"Now who are you talkin to on the phone dumb son of mine?"

"The guy who got sis pregnant"

"Hey why didn't you tell me that?" Marcus asked

"Boy you better not be lyin. Hello?" A deep voice came on the phone

"Yes?" Itachi was trying to keep his patience

"Whats your name young man?"

"Itachi Uchiha"

"Hmmm…how long have you been there?"

"Since yesterday"

"Unlike my idiot sons, I know a lot about you"

"How so?" He raised an eyebrow

"Lets just say I have connections. My daughter still had feelings for you even when she came home. She was even starting to have doubts that you really killed your family" He laughed "Now I don't know what they call someone like you over there but over here you'd be labeled a psycho and I can say that I don't want my grandkids raised my a psycho"

"Maybe Im not as crazy as you think"

"It doesn't matter. I know my daughter is missing even though we've been receiving letters from her supposedly"

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. We've been getting letters from someone. The handwriting is similar but not hers. We'd been getting those for some time now. Whoever took my daughter was sending us fake letters so we wouldn't get suspicious. So far Im the only one whose noticed. I cant come over there right now so I want you to find out what happened"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Theres a file at Natara's apartment about the mission she was on. It'll explain a lot"

"Such as what her job was…"

"You'll be able to infer from reading the file but don't tell anyone. Those are classified documents but I feel that you may be the only one over there who can do this"

"Kaori…"

"Don't even tell her! Theres something about the woman that I don't like"

"Alright, fine"

"Thank you Itachi and just so you know I have been investigating your families murder. It seems that maybe my daughter was right in her belief that you didn't do it. Take care of my grandkids, bye" Itachi stood there shocked _How could he possibly know whats going on?! Who the hell does Natara and her father work for?_

"Itachi, you ok?" Kisame yelled

"Im fine" He looked around for Kaori but she was gone. He went to his room and grabbed the address then stopped to tell Kisame where he was going, sort of.

"Im leaving"

"Have fun" Kisame continued reading the paper.

* * *

Following the directions Itachi ended up in the center of town in front of a four story building. He opened the main door and went to the second floor. He stopped when he got to the top and looked around 

"Are you looking for someone?" He turned around. A bent elderly woman asked him

"Did you know a woman named Natara?"

"Yes, she was a sweet girl. So were her kids" She squinted at him "Actually you like just like her little girl and boy"

"That's nice but do you remember where her apartment is?"

"Its all the way down the hall to your right"

"Thank you" He left before she could ask any questions. Arriving at the door he unlocked it and went inside. Slipping off his shoes he looked around. In front of him was the living room and behind that was the kitchen, it wasn't separated by a wall or anything so he could see directly into it. Off to the right was a hall way. On the left side of hall there were two doors. Itachi slid open the first one. He could tell it was Natsuki's. It was painted light blue with different color flowers. He saw the stuffed animals everywhere. He moved to the next room. It was Nik's. The room was a darker blue with stars and the moon painted on the ceiling. On Nik's bed were notebooks. Itachi walked over and picked one up, he had never thought to ask his son what he drew. Opening it he saw drawings of people and animals. _These are really good_ He closed it and put it back on the bed. Walking out of the room he saw another room directly across the hall. Sliding open the door he saw it was Natara's. It was plain except if you ignored the clothes that were everywhere like she had left in a hurry. Looking on the bed he saw an open manila folder. He picked it up then sat on the bed to read it

Name- Stone, Natara

Rank- Y.E. Captain

Mission- Find the head of the Moon Project

Danger level- 9

Other comments- The info you'll need is on the disk and here are the papers you wanted on Akatsuki. Remember don't get involved with that problem unless provoked. After this mission you will be able to come home permanently. We have someone else to take over for you there.

Itachi looked through the rest of the papers and was shocked by how much information Natara's people had found. A disk fell out of the folder. Itachi picked it up. It was small. He put it in his pocket and decided to figure out what it was later. He went back to reading the papers _They must have been watching us for sometime_ He thought as he flipped through the twenty pages. There was information on every single member, including himself and their leader.. Finally he closed the folder. _From what I've seen it seems like she's something like an ANBU agent only her work is more secretive_. Across from him he saw pictures sitting on top of the dresser. He walked over to it. In one frame there was a picture of a smiling Natara with two guys who looked like twins. Itachi guessed they were her brothers. In another one Nik was being held upside down by one of the twins. He saw pictures of her family and friends. While he was looking at the last one, he saw something under it. Picking it up he saw that it was a picture of himself and Natara. He remembered it. While she had forced him to go grocery shopping with her, she grabbed a camera and had someone take the picture. A small smile came on his face then he heard a noise. He put the picture in his pocket then grabbed the folder and walked down the hall. In the living room a man was looking under the couch.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked

"Huh? Just great" He jumped up

"Im not going to ask you again" He warned

"You would've made a great member of the Moons. That's why you're here isn't it? To find out what happened to that young lady?" He smiled. Itachi didn't "No need to be rude but I will warn you. You have no idea of what you're going up against. We're more powerful than that silly group you're with so stay out of our way or next time it might be one of your cute kids that goes missing" He laughed and then started gasping for air. Itachi's hand was around his throat. He was pissed off

"You can threaten me, but NEVER threaten my kids" Using his genjutsu he caused the man to black out then he walked over to the window, opened it and threw the him outside. He looked at the clock, it was three. Almost time to get his kids. He put his shoes on then walked out of the apartment.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Itachi had arrived and since then he had decided to move into Natara's apartment. Kaori thought it was a good idea and so did Kisame who had said when Itachi told him his decision 

"That'll be good for your kids"

"You're not coming?"

"No, Kaori doesn't hate me as much as she hates you and besides there not being enough space, I'll be able to keep an eye on her" Itachi agreed. He had told Kisame what he'd found but he left out the part about Natara being a spy and having info on all of them. Natty and Nik were happy to have their own rooms again. Itachi was now standing in the kitchen reading a cookbook. He didn't understand some of the recipes so finally giving up he pulled out a cereal box _They can eat this for dinner_.

A pair of feet came running down the hall

"Daddy!"

"Yes Natsuki"

"Nik thinks that you wanna leave us" Tears started coming down her face. He looked at his daughter

"Where'd he get that from?"

"Cuz the kids at school say that Momma left cuz she didn't love us so that means you will too."

"Natsuki…"

"You cant leave us Daddy!" She wrapped her arms around his legs and started crying. He heard another pair of feet walk down the hall. He looked up to see Nik standing there. He looked like he'd just been crying. Looking at both of his children he knew what he had to do. He reached down and picked Natty up, then walked over to Nik and picked him up then he sat down on the couch with both of them

"Im not leaving"

"Really?" Natty whispered into his shoulder

"Yes, I promise"

* * *

Itachi awoke the next morning knowing what he was going to do. After dropping the kids off he went to Kaori's house. 

"Can I help you?" She asked

"Where's Kisame?"

"I'll get him, how are the…"

"They're fine" He cut her off. He wasn't in a good mood. Kaori rolled her eyes and went inside to get Kisame. He came to the door a few seconds later

"Wow Itachi, you look like you're ready to kill someone"

"Lets go"

"Where are we going?" He shut the door behind him

"I'll explain on the way"

Thirty Minutes Later

"Ok,Ok. I'll tell you why I came" The man who had been in Natara's apartment cried. It hadnt been hard to find him, he was sitting at a ramen stand flirting with the waitress when Kisame grabbed him and said they needed to talk Itachi and Kisame thought the guy was stupid for still being in town but they figured he was probably supposed to be watching them

"Why do you want Natara?" Kisame asked

"She…She caused problems for my boss. He wanted to get rid of her" He sobbed

"And why did you want our kids?"

"To…To use them as…as bait"

"Who do you work for?" Kisame asked

"I don't…don't know. I've never seen him. Us lower ranking guys never see him"

"Where can I few find him?"

"Don't know…know that either"

"What do you know?" Kisame was getting angry

"That's it! I get directions through the mail. I had the mission of atching you Itachi and your kids Theres something else…"

"What?!"

"Your kids were…"

* * *

Meanwhile Natty sat outside the school building with Mrs. Hyabusa 

"Young lady you need to stop getting into fights"

"But that other girl started it"

"Natty it doesn't matter. You could've killed her"

"She said my Daddy doesn't love me" Mrs. Hyabusa shook her head. She never understood why many of the other students picked on Natty and Nik so much. Other teachers thought it was jealousy, since the two were at the top of the class. She knelt next to her

"Natsuki I know what they say but if you let everything people say get to you then you're going to have lots of problems"

"That's what my Momma said" She mumbled

"She's right. A message has been sent to your father, so he'll be here soon. I need to go check on the class but I'll be back and you better not leave without telling me" She got up and walked back inside. Natty started watching the people go by.

"Hey little girl" Natty looked to see a young woman with glasses and crazy hair walk up to her

"Amazing" She whispered "Hey guys come see this" She called over to her friends. Three guys walked up "Doesn't she look like him?" The others looked her over

"Actually she does, maybe that rumor we heard was true" One with a giant sword on his back said

"What do you want?" Natty stood up. A guy with a purple belt tied around him walked up to Natty and pushed her

"Sasuke what are you doing?" Karin asked

"I want to see something" He got ready to push her again when a small hand caught his wrist

"Nik!" Natty yelled

"Sis how come you're always makin people mad?"

"I didn't do anything this time"

"Whatever, look I'd really like it if you could leave my sister alone. She's already in enough trouble"

"He looks even more like him" Jugo said. Sasuke frowned, it seemed the rumor was true

"Does your dad train you?" he asked

"No, my Momma and her friends did. Why?"

"Nik and Natsuki come here" Everyone turned to see Itachi and Kisame standing not too far away. The kids ran over to him.

"You should probably tell your kids to leave" Sasuke watched his brother "You don't want then to see what happens to you, right?" His team took up fighting stances.

"Daddy whats he talking bout?" Natty whispered

"Nothing" Itachi answered "I don't have time for this Sasuke"

"I want to end this today"

"Be careful" Karin whispered.

"Tell me one thing before I kill you, do you feel any regret for killing our entire family?"

"My Daddy didn't do that!" Natsuki yelled

"Yes he did, you should ask him about it sometime. It'd make a great bedtime story" Sasuke smirked. Kisame gave Itachi a side glance. His partner's eyes narrowed and Kisame saw something he'd never seen before in his eyes, anger. Kisame had remembered when he first met Itachi that he never showed any emotion but now it was different. Something was changing in him. By now a small group of people were starting to watch, while others whispered and stared as they walked past them. Itachi decided to make it fast. Before anyone could blink, Sasuke's team collapsed on the ground while Itachi stopped in front of his brother

"I have more important things to do right now than to listen to you whine" He struck before Sasuke could, rendering him unconscious.

"What did you do to him?" Karin asked trying to get up but it hurt too much

"He'll live if thats what you're worried about" He walked back over to his kids, picked them up then raced off. Kisame followed him. People from the crowd started to help the group up. In the short time Itachi had benn in the village, the locals had become protective of him and his kids so when Jugo tried to ask them questions they didn't have many answers.

"Look" An older man started to say "I've heard of what he's done but I've never seen a parent who loved their kids more than him. People make mistakes but…"

"HE KILLED HIS ENTIRE FAMILY! What part about that don't you people understand?!" Karin yelled. She was kneeling on the ground with Sasuke's head in her lap.

"Young lady I know that, we all do even our ANBU agents here know that but we also see those kids changing him. They already lost their mother, they cant loose him too. Now we'd appreciate it if you left our town. We'll give you some food but we don't want you here"

"Whatever" Karin said. Jugo picked up Sasuke while Suigetsu helped Karin up. The old man started to walk to the town's entrance.

* * *

Meanwhile on top of a roof, across from what happened, three men in dark clothing watched the scene. Each one wore a black armband with a moon on it 

"This is interesting" Their leader said. He tapped his cane "It may be harder to get the children than we first thought"

"Yes sir" The two behind him answered

"One of you report back to HQ, the other I want you to kill that idiot who went into Ms. Stone's apartment without orders. I hate it when people don't follow orders and don't make it too messy" He laughed

"Yes sir" They disappeared. The leader watched as Team Snake was escorted to the town's entrance and given food.

"Hmmm…I may be able to use them" He whispered to himself "Maybe this isn't so bad"

**A note from me- **in case you missed it Natara is or was a spy and i didnt forget about the disk. that'll be explained next time. i dont really have much to say except ...ok i have nothin to say so next chap will be up soon.


	5. Return

Itachi sat on the edge of Nik's bed watching him sleep. He heard a small voice coming from across in the other bed. He turned to see Natsuki spread out all over her bed with her stuffed dog in one arm. Every once in a while she'd whisper something then turn over. Itachi smiled for the first time _I cant leave them, not like I left their mother but I need to settle this with Sasuke or he'll cause problems later_. Knowing that his brother was probably still outside of town he decided to pay him a visit. Outside of the building Kisame stood waiting for him.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I just need you to watch them. It wont take long" Itachi walked away. Kisame watched him leave then went inside. Unknown to either of them Nik had followed his dad downstairs. He wasn't a heavy sleeper so he had sensed when Itachi had left the room. He waited until Kisame was inside then came out of his hiding space and ran off to follow his dad. Outside of the town there were small houses and a few farms. After asking a young farmer he found out where Sasuke was. Itachi finally stopped outside of a small house. Before he even knocked, Sasuke said

"I guess today's my lucky day" Itachi turned around to face his brother

"I didn't want to fight in front of my kids"

"Arent you a great dad!" He smirked "Did your kids hear about how their great dad murdered their grandparents?"

"Sasuke…"

"You didn't tell 'em that one yet? Oh wait, maybe you'll want to save that for when they get older right? Then they can hate you as much as I do, but enough talk. Im going to kill you" Sasuke moved fast. He threw several kunai at Itachi who caught all of them. After he caught the last one he looked around but couldn't see Sasuke. Suddenly he dropped the kunai and caught a sword just before it went through his chest. Sasuke smiled. Itachi didn't. Neither was bothering to use their sharigan's yet. Then Itachi pushed Sasuke away and jumped in a tree across from them.

"Sasuke I don't want to fight"

"That's funny" He threw a single kunai at the tree which exploded. Itachi jumped out just as it crashed to the ground. The sound of the tree falling brought the rest of Team Snake outside. They all took up fighting stances

"This ends now!" Sasuke yelled as his a sound filled the air that sounded like birds. A blue glow began to form in his hand. Itachi remembered when his brother used it last _The last time he used the Chidori it didn't even touch me. This time it seems he's made it stronger or at least has mastered it_. Suigetsu, Jugo and Karin immediately started attacking him. He dodged their kicks and punches easily. He grabbed Jugo's wrist and threw him into Suigetsu. Then he used his genjutsu to paralyze Karin, he pushed her over and realized what they were doing _This was a distraction_. Sasuke ran towards Itachi with a much more powerful Chidori and struck. There was a blinding light then silence for a minute, slowly as the light disappeared Sasuke realized he hadn't hit his brother, instead a little boy stood in front of Itachi. Nik's small hand was around Sasuke's fist. Nik pushed him back. Team Snake stood shocked. Nik was only four yet he was able to block the Chidori attack. Sasuke frowned

"Looks like you've been training your son"

"Nope, my momma trained me" Nik grinned. He looked back at his Dad "Sorry Dad but I sorta couldn't sleep"

"We'll talk about this later" Itachi replied

"Just because your kid is here doesn't mean I quit, I can work around this" Sasuke threw a glance at Suigetsu who immediately grabbed Nik, distracting Itachi. Before he had time to get his son, Karin and Jugo were attacking him.

"Let go of me!" Nik squirmed in Suigetsu's arms

"Sorry kid, cant do that. If you don't stop movin I promise you'll regret it" Nik stopped

"Can you tell me one thing?" He asked as he watched his Dad and the others fight, well mostly the two trying to get a punch or attack in and then Itachi dodging it.

"What?"

"How does my Dad know your friend?"

"Seriously kid? You don't know?" He raised an eyebrow

"If I knew I wouldn't be askin"

"Stupid brat" He mumbled, then said "He's your Dad's younger brother"

"His brother?" Nik's voice squeaked "That means he's my uncle…"

"Wow you figured that out all by yourself" Nik was too surprised to answer. Since Suigetsu had relaxed, Nik decided to act. He elbowed him in the stomache then started to run.

"Sh…" He started to say then grabbed his sword and ran after him. Too angry to think clearly he raised his sword. Itachi looked over in time to see what was going on _I have to get to him before he brings that down._ He left his attackers and ran to push his son out of the way just as the sword came down. When the dust settled Itachi was on the ground on his side with a long cut across his back. Nik was under him

"Daddy are you okay?"

"Im…fine" Itachi panted. He brushed some of the dirt off of Nik's face then closed his eyes

"Daddy, wake up!" Tears started to pour down his face. He sat up and ripped some of his shirt to try and stop the bleeding. Sasuke's teammates looked at him

"You could finish him right here" Suigetsu said

"If you want I could take the kid away" Karin added

"This doesn't seem right" Jugo whispered

"What are you talking about? This is what he's been waiting for. He has the opportunity to kill him so he should go for it" Suigetsu raised his voice. He and Jugo started arguing, soon Karin joined in. As Sasuke watched the little boy he thought of himself and how he had cried when he'd discovered Itachi had killed their parents. A week ago he never would've imagined his brother doing something like this but he came to a realization that his brother was changing and he couldn't kill him like this "Guys get your stuff and lets go"

"Sasuke, what do you…" Karin started to say

"Get your stuff so we can go" He growled. The three looked at each other then went off to do what he said. Sasuke walked up to Nik who was still trying to stop the bleeding. He looked up at him

"If your dad dies will you hate me?" Nik thought for a minute then answered

"No, my grandma told me that hate doesn't do anything cept make you hate more. 'Sides you're my uncle"

"We're ready" Jugo yelled

"Bye Uncle Sasuke" Nik said. He didn't say anything, but with a last look at Nik he and his team ran off. Nik went back to trying to help Itachi. Doors to the small homes opened and people looked out to see if it was safe. An older woman with her two daughters ran over to Itachi. They had bandages and hot water to clean his cut.

"Akane take the little one back to the house" The woman said as she knelt down

"Okay" She turned to Nik "Come with me, my mom will help him" Nik was too out of it to resist. He got up and walked back with her. The woman turned Itachi on his stomach then ripped away the rest of his shirt. Her other daughter gasped when she saw the wound. The cut started at Itachi's shoulder on the left and went down his back.

"He's bleeding so much" The woman said as she inspected it "I never shouldve let those kids stay with us. I knew they were trouble" She went to work cleaning and bandaging the wound.

"What happened here?!" A voice shouted

"Mom" The daughter got her mother's attention. The woman looked up to see three men standing in front of her. One had a giant sword and wore a plain shirt and pants while the other two were dressed in black robes with what looked like red clouds on them.

"Looks like Itachi got in a fight" Deidara said

"Lady I said what happened? Did you do this?" Kisame couldn't keep the shock out of his voice

"No, some good for nothing kids"

"Did one wear a purple belt?"

"Yes" She nodded.

"He's not gonna die is he?" Tobi asked

"He's lost a lot of blood. I did my best but if I can get him to a hospital he should be fine"

"Wheres his kid?" Kisame ran a hand through his hair

"Inside my house. This man is a good father. Me and my daughters saw the entire fight from our home. This man got hurt protecting his son"

"Wait a minute, what did you say?" Deidara asked

"His son had been grabbed by one of the other guys. He had a sword like yours" She looked at Kisame "Anyways the little boy elbowed him then tried to run. I guess the guy was really angry and got ready to attack the boy but his father jumped in the way"

"That doesn't sound like the Itachi we all know and love" Deidara whispered

"Im gonna get Nik. You two get him to the hospital in town" Kisame ran to the house

"Thank you for all your help" Tobi said

"No problem" She stood up "Be careful with him

"Can you lift him by yourself?" Deidara walked over

"In spite of what you think, I'm not completely weak" Tobi knelt down to pick him up "Besides we all know Itachi starves himself so its not like he weighs a ton" He laughed

'This is no time to joke around!"

"Calm down, why don't you do something useful for a change" The two ran back to town. A few seconds later they were followed by Kisame who was carrying Nik.

* * *

The next morning Itachi awoke to find himself in his bed. He thought about his son and remembered what happened the past night 

"Nik!" He sat up in bed. A pain shot though his body so he tried to lay back down

"You need to relax" Deidara walked into the room

"Where's my son?"

"Sleeping and the girl is putting makeup on Tobi" Itachi managed a small smile "Now theres something you don't see everyday"

"Having kids changed some things, but don't think I wont kill you if you piss me off" Itachi glared at him

"Sorry its just Im not used to seeing you show any kind of emotion…any…whatsoever…at all…"

"I get it" Itachi closed his eyes "Did you find out anything?" A few days ago Itachi had asked Deidara to find out information about the Moon project  
"Yeah, it was easier than I thought. Their some underground guys who make money on doing things your girlfriend's country have said are illegal"

"I have to find her"

"Of course you do but we can talk about this later. I haven't gotten any sleep and its eight in the morning so bye" With that Deidara left the room. _Where is she? _Itachi thought as he drifted back to sleep

* * *

Sakura hummed to herself as she walked to the hospital room. It was her turn to watch over the mystery patient. She had been with them for a couple of months and showed no signs of waking up. Sakura sighed. The Hokage has become attached to the young woman and kept hope that she'd wake up one day. After Kakashi had told her about a possible Itachi/Akatsuki connection to whatever had happened, Tsunade had sent out a couple of ANBU agents but so far they hadn't come up with anything. Sakura opened the door to the room and gasped. The woman was awake and playing cards with the Hokage. 

"Sakura, there you are. I want you to get me some food. I hate hospital stuff"

"Ho…Hokage, what are you doing here? I just saw you at your office"

"Havent you ever heard of a clone?" Tsunade rolled her eyes "This is Natara Stone"

"Hi" The woman said

"Ummm…hi" Sakura answered.

"Since you're not going to get me any food, I'll get it myself." She turned to Natara "I'll be back"

"Ok" Tsunade walked out, leaving Sakura by herself.

"So how are you?" She asked

"I guess Im alright" Natara was restless so she jumped up and began doing push ups.

"I think you should be resting" Sakura sighed then sat in a chair

"Yeah whatever"

"Fine but if you get in trouble with the Hokage its not my fault"

"What she gonna do? Yell at me?" Natara started to laugh

"Don't disrespect the Hokage!" Sakura stood up

"Whoa chick, calm down" Natara pushed herself up on her knees "I wasn't tryin to be disrespectful"

"Sorry, I'm just a little tired" Sakura sat down again "Itachi did that to you?"

"Excuse me" Natara raised an eyebrow

"You mumbled his name while you were out of it, so we assumed he had something to do with you being beat up like that"

"No" She whispered then got back in the bed. Not sensing anything wrong Sakura continued talking

"Well even so we haven't been able to find him. Theres this crazy rumor going around that he has kids or something like that"

"WHAT?!" Natara sat up

"Yeah I was surprised too. The Hokage doesn't think its true but you never know. He hasn't come after my friend, who has the nine tailed fox, in awhile so I guess…"

"Where'd you hear this?"

"From my friend Ino who heard it from someone else who heard it from…"

"I get it, so no one knows who started it?"

"No, why?"

"No special reason. I need clothes" Natara got out of bed and prepared to jump out of the window

"What are you doing?!"

"Look you can roll with me or stay here and cry. Its your choice" Natara jumped out

"This is just what I need" Sakura groaned then followed her

* * *

It was a few days later since that night he'd gotten hurt. Itachi, Kisame and Deidara sat at the table. Tobi had walked with the kids to school 

"So whats the plan?" Kisame asked "Do we still go after the nine tailed fox?"

"Naruto isn't important right now" Itachi answered "I need to find to find Natara"

"Where are you going to start?"

"Konoha"

"Why?"

"You ask too many questions" Deidara said "Their great Hokage sent ANBU shinobi after Tobi and I. They couldn't find you and Itachi so they asked if we knew about a young woman who had been beaten up and then dropped off in Konoha. Of course we didn't know. I told them. Instead of them leaving they decided to try and capture me, since Im Akatsuki and all that. So I had to kill one and told the other to get lost"

"Nice story" Kisame said sarcastically

"You three have no idea of what you're getting into" They turned to see a woman standing at the door with her hands on her hips. She wore slightly baggy jeans and a sleeveless white shirt that said 'Look But Don't Touch'. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail with her bangs hung over her eyes. She wore big hoop earrings in her ears.

"Ahhh! Natara do you know who these guys are?!" Sakura practically screamed and came out from behind her

"Yes" She smiled and looked directly at Itachi who was speechless.

**A note from me- **This wasn't as long as I wanted and I sorta rushed it but I hope you enjoyed it. I know this has nothing to do with the story but I saw Transformers some days ago and highly recommend it. Very good movie. Natara wont be with them very long in the next chapter. She still has to find the people who tried to kill her. Stay tuned


	6. Home Again

"Who are you?" Deidara asked slightly annoyed. Kisame could tell from the way Itachi was watching the young woman that he knew her, so he said

"How do you know Itachi?"

"I should be the one askin the questions round here, you guys ARE in my place" She took her eyes from Itachi's and looked at the other two

"Natara we should go" Sakura spoke up

"Im not goin anywhere, at least not til I see my kids. Go back to Kaori's and wait for me there"

"You sure?"

"Yep, I can take care of myself" With a last glance at the other three, Sakura hurried out of the room.

"I get it, you're the girl Itachi got pregnant" Deidara smirked then said to Itachi "Were you drunk or something?"

"Wow! A funny comment comin from a guy who I thought was a chick when I came in here"

"I don't care who you are, you'll pay for that" He stood up.

"Bring it blondie!"

"Stop" Itachi said "Deidara and Kisame please leave" For a minute Deidara didn't move but Kisame grabbed his arm and left. Itachi stood up and looked Natara over.

"Did I get uglier?" She rolled her eyes

"No, the opposite" She blushed a little

"How's Nik and Natty?"

"Fine. They missed you"

"I know" She paused and looked around. Even though she hadn't seen him in almost five years, he still made her feel…well things she didn't want to feel. She could feel the tension in the room and started to hiccup. She put her hands over mouth but it didn't stop. Before she could blink, Itachi was standing in front of her. He pulled her hands down. Natara said through her hiccups

"I never…do this…with…anyone else…except…you" Itachi smiled which surprised Natara "You…never…smile"

"Yes I do" He whispered and pulled her closer. Natara had made up her mind some time ago that she'd never let herself fall for Itachi again but she found herself not able to help it. Their lips were almost touching when a phone rang. She pulled herself away and ran to her/Itachi's room where the sound was coming from and nearly tripped trying to get away from him. Natara looked in her closet and pulled a small phone off the top shelf. She put the Bluetooth piece in her ear and said

"Hello?"

"Natara Stone, its nice to hear your voice"

"Sir how'd you know I'd be here"

"I didn't, Your father talked to that Itachi guy and wanted to see if he found anything, but this is a nice surprise. When will you be home?"

"When I take them down " He laughed

"Seroiusly Stone, when are you coming back?"

"I wasn't joking sir"

"Really? Your mother and father aren't going to like this. This mission is too dangerous. You need to pull out and come home. We're already working on another plan"

"If I leave we'll loose him. I know what Im doing. It'll take too much time to prepare and send over a replacement. I can finish this" She heard him groan

"It's a miracle he hasn't captured your kids already. The longer you're there the more of a risk you're taking"

"I know but I can handle this. That's why I'm one of your top agents. This guy is too dangerous to let roam free"

"I also don't want to LOOSE one of my top agents. Come home, that's an order"

"I guess Im gonna have to ignore it then sir"

"Natara…" He warned

"Bye sir" She hung up and took the earpiece out of her ear and sat on the bed

"What was that about?" Itachi leaned against the doorway

"Work stuff" _I have to stay here and finish the mission. We've already lost too many of our agents to this lunatic. If I don't take him out, then he'll never get captured._ She looked up at Itachi "You know what I do?" He nodded. She sighed "Well whatever my Dad told you it must've been having to do with finding me since normally he'd never let something like that slip"

"What are you going to do?"

"Stay until I complete my mission" She looked at him "You'll be sleeping on the couch though"

"I doubt it" He turned to go but Natara stopped him

"What is that?" She walked up behind him and touched a small scar near his shoulder. She touched it and realized it went under his shirt.

"Don't…" He started to say but Natara had already begun to lift his shirt up. She gasped

"When did this happen?"

"A few days ago"

"This healed fast"

"A medic nin healed it the best she could but she was only a beginner so the scar is still there" Natara's fingers traced it down his back, not really paying attention to how Itachi was reacting. He spun around and grabbed Natara by her waist and pulled her close to him. She tried to move away but couldn't.

"You better not Itachi"

"Too late" He said then kissed her. She pulled away breathing hard

"Whats wrong with you?"

"Nothing" He smirked then put a finger under her chin and said "Like I said, Im not sleeping on the couch" He started to walk away. Natara groaned

"Where are you going?"

"To find Kisame and Deidara"

"Wait up" She scrambled after him

* * *

Meanwhile at the Stone house Tony and his friends sat in the living room

"Yo dude, you've been abnormally quiet. Are you sick?" Red was sitting next to him. Joaquin sat across from him on the floor and Eric sat on his other side.

"Im fine"

"You're lyin"

"Maybe he doesnt want to talk about it, did ya think about that Red?" Joaquin took a sip of his water

"Stay outta this"

"Don't start you two" Eric said then asked Tony "Its about your sister, isn't it?" He nodded

"I talked to our superior. He said there's nothin to worry about but I know he's lyin"

"Of course he is. They never tell us the complete story" Red rolled his eyes

"But you know why they do that. We're not as good yet as some of the other agents" Eric adjusted his glasses.

"Whatever, all I wanna know is what the hell is goin on with my sister. My parents don't seem worried about it"

"What about your brothers?"

"They try to play it off like they don't care but I know they do"

"We should do something" Everyone looked at Eric in surprise

"Whoa man, where's this comin from? Usually one of us would throw somethin like that out there and you'd shoot it down" Joaquin raised an eyebrow. Eric shrugged then said

"She could need our help or the kids may be in trouble. Even though Kaori is there doesn't mean Natara doesn't need backup"

"You think we should go and check on my senorita?"

"Hey! What was that? She's not your girl. Everybody know's Im gonna marry her one day" Red gave his friend a mean look

"Shut up skater boy 'fore I punch you so hard all that red hair falls out"

"I'd like to see you try"

"How bout both of you calm down" Tony glared at them "Eric how would we go there without them finding out?"

"Findin out what?" Mr. Stone walked into the room

"Oh nothin Pops" Tony smiled

"Boy you need to work on your lyin skills. Is this about your sister?" Tony looked down at the floor "Remember son, your bosses know what they're doin. There's a reason we haven't been told, ok?"

"Yeah"

"Alright, you boys don't touch my food or I'll kill you"

"Yes sir" His friends said

"Bye" He walked out of the room

"Dude have I ever told you how much your dad scares me?" Red ran a hand through his hair.

"He scares all of us. He doesn't even have to dress up for Halloween, that's how scary he is" Joaquin added

"I can tell you're thinking, so whats the plan?" Eric asked

"My Dad has been in the army since Julius was little so he never questions authority, he follows orders. My Mom is the same except she's been a spy"

"What about you?" Tony looked at his friend and smiled

"Everyone knows I'm not like that"

"Then whats the plan?" Red asked excitedly

"First I gotta find that disc with Natara's info on it. Two were made with stuff about the mission on it. She took one with her and the other is somewhere in my parents room"

"Please don't tell me one of us has to go in there and find it, your dad just went back there to take a nap" Joaquin groaned

"Sorry but yeah. Who's the quietest person in our group who could pull this off?" Everyone looked at Red

"Dimples thats not funny! Im not doin it!"

* * *

Itachi and Natara were sitting on a bench outside of their kids school. After finding his teammates Itachi told them to meet him at the apartment around four. It was now only one o'clock and the two had been sitting for around ten minutes. The sun was shining and the air was filled with the scent of bread since a small bakery was across from them.

"Why doesn't your father trust Kaori?" Itachi asked

"What are you talking about? Oh!" She giggled "He's just bein stupid. For his birthday last year she baked him a cake but she's not a very good cook so it didn't bake all the way through"

"That's it?"

"Yeah, my Dad takes things to the extreme. He thinks if someone cant be trusted with something small then they're not trustworthy" She paused then said "Itachi Im back now so are you leaving?" He had been thinking about that before she came back.

"Im not sure. We still have to get the nine tailed fox"

"Why don't you leave Akastuki?"

"Why?"

"I don't know, its just…what are you gonna do after you capture all of them? It seems sorta pointless and I know about your Makeyo Sharigan. Every time you use it there are side effects"

"If you're worried about me just say so Natara"

"Ha! Im not worried, its simply an observation" She sighed then said "So you never told me how you got that scar"

"Don't worry about it"

"Why don't you wanna tell me?" He didn't say anything which made Natara mad. She jumped up and said "I can see that you still are a jackass! Whats the big deal? Arghhhhhhh! I hope neither of our kids…" Before she could finish, Itachi stood up and kissed her again. He pulled away then whispered

"You are too loud sometimes"

"Well kissin me every time isn't gonna shut me up either"

"Really?"

"Don't even think about it! That's why you're definitely sleepin on the couch" She tried to walk away but he pulled her back. He started to laugh

"If you don't let go of me, you'll be sorry" She tried to pull her hand away but Itachi's grip was stronger. "Itachi quit playin around!" She continued to try and free herself while he laughed and pulled her back to him

* * *

Across the street in the bakery Kaori and Sakura had a seat near the window. Sakura was eating sweet buns while Kaori drank tea. She could see Natara and Itachi outside

"I never in a million years would think to see him laugh or have children" Sakura stuffed the last bite in her mouth "Natara told me we were coming to see her kids but…wow. Wait til Naruto and the others hear about this"

"He'll be good to her" Kaori quietly said

"What? Are you serious?"

"I know, I know. That was my reaction when I met him but he's not the same"

"Akatsuki has all the tailed beasts except the fox. Our Hokage had begun to wonder why Itachi and Kisame hadn't come for it. We were getting prepared and everything" She thought for a moment then said "She still loves him"

"Yep, when we were in the states she never dated"

"You're American?" Sakura asked in surprise

"No, I was born in the Land of Fire but my parents moved when I was twelve. I met Natara a couple years later"

"But you're ANBU aren't you?" Kaori nodded "Then why haven't you or any of the other shinobi here moved to capture Akatsuki. You have four members right here"

"It would be nice but we all agreed that as long as Itachi takes care of his kids then we wouldn't touch him nor anyone else in his group in our town. I know it seems crazy" Sakura looked back out the window. Natara had given up and was now wrapped in Itachi's arms

"Master Tsunade is gonna have a heart attack when she finds out about this" She whispered

* * *

"Momma!" Natara pulled away from Itachi to see Nik running towards her. She knelt down and held out her arms. He jumped in them and said "I missed you"

"I missed you too sweetie"

"Mom!" Natty ran into Natara's arms "Im so glad you're back! Daddy tells us scary stories and all we eat is cereal unless we go to Aunt Kaori's or Mr. Kisame comes over and cooks"

"Are you gonna leave again?" Nik asked

"I might but it wont be for long"

"I wish you wouldn't"

"I know but I have to. Lets go to the bakery so I can make fun of how many pounds your Aunt Kaori is gonna gain from eatin those sweets"

"Like when Uncle Marcus said your bu…" Natara put a hand over Natty's mouth "NEVER repeat anything your Uncle Marcus says ok? Now come on" Each one put a hand in hers "Itachi are you comin?"

"I have to do something"

"Bye Daddy" Both kids said

"Bye" He looked at Natara then walked away

**A note from me-** A little short, I know but the next chap will be longer. I want to cross this over with somethin else but I'm not sure. Do you guys think I should or just leave the story like it is? I wanted to cross it over with either Inuyasha or DBZ (Preferably DBZ) If I leave this like it is then I'll just do another story as a crossover so it really isn't a big deal but tell me what ya think and the next chap will move a lil faster


	7. Invisibility

It was almost six o'clock in the morning when Itachi woke up. He sat up, looked over at Natara's side and saw she was missing. He remembered what she had told him the first night when she was there

"_Since you want to be stubborn and not sleep on the couch and since technically this is my room, we're gonna have to share the bed but I promise if you touch me I'll make sure you cant produce any more kids! Got it?" He smiled which caught Natara off guard "Ok well Im glad we have an understanding" _

He got off the bed and listened _It sounds like singing, its too early for this. _Natara had been back only a couple of days but she was an early riser and tended to make noise when while everyone was sleep. Natty and Nik were hard sleepers so they didn't hear much but because of Itachi's training he had always been a light sleeper. Yawning, he put a shirt on and walked down the hall. He stopped when got to the front room. In the kitchen area he saw Natara in short shorts and a baggy shirt chopping something on the counter near the sink. Her back was to him and she had ear buds in her ears. She was singing and dancing while she cut. Itachi leaned against the wall and watched her.

"Ohh Boy you looking like you like what you see  
Won't you come over and check up on it, I'm gon let you work up on it  
Ladies let em check up on it, watch it while he check up on it  
Dip it, pop it, twork it, stop it, check on me tonight

If you got it, flaunt it, boy I know you want it  
While I turn around you watch me check up on it  
Oohhh you watchin me shake it, I see it in ya face  
Ya can't take it, it's blazin, you watch me in amazement  
You can look at it, as long as you don't grab it  
If you don't go braggin, I'ma let you have it  
You think that I'm teasin, but I ain't got no reason  
I'm sure that I can please ya, but first I gotta read you"

Natara danced and sang while she was cooking. When the song was over Itachi said

"That was nice" Natara dropped the pot she was holding and turned around. She pulled the ear buds out and said

"How much did you hear?"

"Was it about me?"

"WHAT? NO! It was just a song I liked from back home so don't get ANY ideas" Itachi raised an eyebrow. Before Natara could blink he was standing in front of her

"Why don't you want me to touch you Natara?" He asked

"Its…distracting…and I…don't…need that…right now"

"Uh-huh but don't you think you'll be distracted more if I don't?" Natara tried to keep calm _He has a point, I think about him too much as it is but I have to keep my resolve. Stay calm_. Itachi saw what he was doing to her. Her legs started to wobble as he trailed a finger down her arm. Just when she thought she'd give in there was a sound at the window. Natara immediately pulled away and opened it. Someone had been throwing rocks at it. She looked down to see two figures. It was still a little dark so she had troubled at first recognizing them but finally she made out the frames of Kaori and Sakura

"You didn't forget did you?"

"No, I'll be down in a minute" She shut the window and looked at Itachi "Im gonna go with Kaori for a while. The stuff I started to cook is in the oven so don't mess with it and I'll see you later" She hurriedly walked past him to the door

"Be careful" He said. Natara couldn't be sure but she thought she detected a hint of worry. She stopped _Could he really care about me? I wish I understood him _She sighed then left the room. Itachi yawned then walked back to their room.

* * *

Itachi felt someone jumping on the bed. It was a couple hours later and he had wanted to sleep longer, especially since it was the weekend. 

"Dadddddddyyyyyyy!" He heard a voice say. He opened his eyes to see Natsuki bouncing on the bed in her doggy pajamas and matching slippers.

"What are you doing?"

"Tryin to wake you up. You promised to teach me ninja stuff and you're sleepin! Where's Momma? And what was she cookin this morning?"

"Natsuki Im tired"

"Ok" She stopped bouncing and grabbed her dog off the bed but instead of leaving she got under the covers next to Itachi "Now we can both sleep Daddy" She said happily.

"Fine just don't wake me up anymore" He started to go to sleep when he felt someone get in the bed on the other side of him. He turned to see Nik pull the blankets over himself "What are you doing?"

"If she gets to be in here then so do I"

"Copycat" Natty said

"No Im not and you copy me all the time"

"Daddy Nik is lyin on me!"

"Both of you be quiet so Daddy can be happy later on, ok?" Itachi answered through clenched teeth

"Yes sir" They both said. Before Natty laid down she stuck her tongue out at Nik who did the same thing back then both snuggled next to their Dad.

* * *

Meanwhile Natara and Kaori were sparing on the outskirts of town. Sakura didn't see how they could keep it up. They'd been at it for almost two hours and neither showed signs of slowing down. Plus every ten minutes they'd switch into a different fighting style. Finally they stopped.

"That was amazing! Where'd you guys learn to fight like that?" Sakura threw them the water bottles Kaori had brought for them

"You wouldn't believe how hard our training was" Kaori said. She drank some water

"Well what's next?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we going after the guys who kidnapped Natara or what?"

"Kaori and I are but you aren't" Natara sat on the ground and fanned herself

"What are you talking about?!"

"Sakura its only gonna get more dangerous from now on and besides Tsunade and your friends are probably worried about you"

"I sent her a letter with no return address telling her I was fine"

"But that's not enough. It'd be better for them to actually see you"

"Just great" Sakura's shoulders sagged a little "When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning"

"Ok, maybe you're right"

"Cheer up! Its not like you'll never see us again" Kaori laughed

"I'll try" She thought for a minute then said "What should I say about you?" She looked at Natara

"They don't need to know about me and Itachi. Just tell her you escorted me home and stayed a few days to make sure everything was ok" Sakura nodded

"Alright"

"Sakura I feel I can trust you so don't let me down"

"Yeah, yeah" Her stomach started to growl. She grinned in embarrassment "Im starving"

"Head to the bakery and we'll meet up with you in a few"

"Ok" After Sakura was gone Kaori looked at her friend and said

"That was BS"

"Which part?"

"You gettin beat up/ kidnapped"

"I know" She sipped some of her water "But they don't. They found me with cuts, bruises, dirty and unconscious so she and everyone else assumed I got beat up, so I let them" Kaori laughed

"That must've been some intense training you went through in order for people to think that" Natara grinned _I needed to train harder for this mission so I took a couple of months. Didn't think it'd be this big of a deal_

"It was easier for the boss to send The Three here to train me than bringin me home"

"I know but when are you gonna tell everyone else, like I don't know, Itachi?"

"Lets not talk about him right now" She frowned

"Why? And I wanna know is how are you two sleepin in the same bed and not doin anything?"

"I threatened him"

"Natara sooner or later you're gonna have to deal with your feelings for him. I mean you rarely dated after you came back"

"I was a mom"

"Yeah but you know your parents would've given anything for you to find a nice guy back home, preferably military, but still they weren't extra choosy. You could've dated stupid thugs and they would've been happy. They were always tryin to introduce you to guys"

"Kaori…"

"What are you gonna do when this mission is over? Things wont be the same"

"I know but I don't know if he feels the same way about me. I don't want to push myself on him just cuz I had his kids. I don't want to trap him"

"Natara, I've seen the way he looks at you. There's actually some kind of emotion in his eyes when he sees you. Maybe you don't notice it but I do and so do the other Akatsuki guys" Kaori saw that her friends eyes looked watery "You're not gonna start cryin on me are you?" Natara wiped her eyes, smiled and held her hand out

"Young Eagles don't cry" Kaori helped her up

"Im always here for you best friend"

"I know, now lets go before Sakura comes looking for us"

* * *

"He was so crazy" Kaori said as she stuffed a small donut in her mouth. She, Sakura and Natara were sitting at a small table at the bakery. Kaori was telling Sakura stories from when she and her friend were young inexperienced agents. "Our language instructor would make us do ten push ups for every word we screwed up"

"What kind of languages did he teach you?" Sakura asked

"I guess around five then we went to another one to learn more.

"He wasn't as crazy as Iceman" Natara said

"Who was that?" Sakura grabbed a donut

"He taught us about sniper weapons. We gave him the nickname cuz he was so cold and mean. I once had to miss lesson cuz I'd broken a couple of fingers doin a dumb bike trick. When I came in to explain it to him he said…"

"…cry me a river" Kaori finished and laughed "That was his favorite line. Remember when Anthony was just starting out and he got in Iceman's face?"

"Yeah" Natara sighed "I thought they were gonna fight"

"Did he make him mad?"

"Iceman told him to he shot like he was blind and my brother didn't take too kindly to that. Even though the guy was his superior he didn't care. You could hear him cussin through the whole building. His friends had to hold him back. Almost got kicked out for that. I miss my brothers"

"How many do you have?" Sakura said through a stuffed mouth

"Three. Theres Anthony and Marcus then Julius who's the oldest"

"What about you Kaori?"

"Only child"

"Me too"

"Lets go outside" Natara said. She put money for the bill on the table then the three left. Sakura stretched while Natara and Kaori stood still. Without warning a shuriken flew at the girls. Kaori pushed Sakura down and got out of the way. Natara simply stood there.

"It took you guys long enough"

"What she talking about?" Sakura pushed herself up

"We've been followed since this morning" Kaori said

"Really?! I didn't sense anything" She looked around "And I don't see anyone either"

"That's because they're invisible"

"You're joking right?"

"No, they stole a very important technology from us. It helps them to move without being seen"

"How do we fight someone we cant see?"

"We're not doin anything. Natara they're yours"

"This is gonna be fun" Natara said with a grin then went to work

Ten minutes later

"What do you idiots want?" Natara asked. She had a guy pinned on the ground. Everyone could see him. There had been four others but they were sprawled out on the ground. She had long ago been informed that in order for the invisibility to work a small machine, the size of a throw away camera, had to be installed on the person. It didn't take long for Natara to realize where the machines were. After throwing kunai into them the invisibility wore off. "Im not gonna ask you again"

"You better answer her. She's gettin really pissed off" Kaori said calmly as she filed her nails.

"This was a warning Natara Stone. Next time you wont be so lucky"

"Really?" Natara took her foot off of him "Honestly are you tryin to be scary cuz its not workin out"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on 'Next time you wont be so lucky'. My dog back home sounds scarier when he's sleepin"

"That's pretty harsh" The man stood up and dusted himself off "What would you have said?"

"I don't know, maybe it would've sounded better if you weren't pinned to the ground with my foot on your back"

"You have a point"

"You new at this or somethin?"

"Yeah, I just joined a few weeks ago"

"Really, where ya from?"

"Georgia, wasn't much goin on there so I joined these guys"

"You like it over here?"

"Not really, I miss American food and especially baseball. I cant get any of the games over here"

"Yeah I had a problem with that. Well wait until football season starts. Then it'll really suck"

"I forgot about that, whos your favorite team?"

"The Colts"

"Im a Falcons fan myself. Those guys back there love the Patriots" He said referring to his partners. The small crowd that had gathered couldn't believe what they were hearing, one minute Natara had been fighting and the next she was holding a conversation.

"Does... she do this often?" Sakura asked

"Unfortunately" Kaori shook her head "Natara whats wrong with you?!"

"What? Oh, Ohhhhhhh. Sorry" She gave a sheepish smile "We gotta start fightin again" She said to the man

"I don't really feel like it anymore, what about you guys?" He turned to the other four

"Not really"

"Im tired"

"I wanna get somethin to eat"

"Wanna play my Xbox"

"Yeah…soooo just watch your back Natara Stone!" He gave a mean look then asked "How was that?"

"Still got some work to do"

"Ok thanks, lets go guys" The five raced off.

"That went well" Natara smiled. Kaori hit her forehead and gave an exasperated sigh.

* * *

It was early the next morning and Natara was getting dressed. She and Kaori had decided late last night that they'd escort Sakura back. Neither wanted to admit it but they'd both miss her. She was trying her best not to wake Itachi who was being pushed out of the bed by Natsuki and Nik. Natara didn't understand why the two wanted to stay with them. They'd never done it before, but then Nik told her one of the stories Itachi had been telling them. He had scared them so bad that they had been looking under their beds each night before they went to sleep. After Natara had yelled at him, Itachi shrugged and turned over on his side. She smiled as she remembered. She looked over at the bed to see Natsuki sprawled out with her dog. Nik was in the middle and was snoring while Itachi was on the edge of the bed with a frown on his face. She had already told them that she was leaving so she kissed her kids on the forehead and flicked Itachi on the nose

"How long are you going to be?" He asked without opening his eyes

"Should be back by tomorrow. If we run it wont take us long. Im leaving"

"Bye"

"See ya"

* * *

"The time is coming. What do you think James?" A man with graying hair said

"I agree" James and his friend sat at a small table in a very large house. "When are we sending someone to get the children?"

"Soon. I don't want to strike until the Akatsuki are able to get the fox. In all the chaos that will ensue we'll be able to move freely"

"Are you certain our favorite government will be distracted?"

"Yes, I've set everything up in such a way that they will think Akatsuki is a terrorist organization and with the tailed beasts they'll try to disrupt a lot of things" He laughed "The pieces are falling into place"

"What about Natara Stone? She has been a problem in the past?"

"All of the Eagles have but she wont be there when the children are taken and she wont know where they'll be"

"Sounds like everything is in place"

"Yes, I will most certainly take out the Young Eagles and hopefully a lot more when this plan succeeds" A short man ran into the room panting

"Mr. Moon sir, our sources say that Natara and Kaori have left"

"Excellent, tell the men to go"

"Yes sir" He ran out the room.

"Moon, what if the children are stronger than we think? We don't know how The Three trained them and you forget whats in their DNA"

"Dont worry, I havent forgotten. That's why this is a test run" He smiled and sat back in his leather chair.

* * *

"Just admit it" Sakura was saying "You guys were gonna miss me so you came along"

"Yeah right" Kaori rolled her eyes

"Whatever" Natara said. They had been racing through the forests and were now not too far from Konoha so they had decided to slow down and walk. Natara looked up at the setting sun. "I really want to get there before it gets dark. I hate traveling at night"

"Well we should be just an hour or slightly more away" Sakura paused then asked "Sooo…how's everything with Itachi?"

"How's everything with Kakashi?" Natara smiled at the look of dismay on Sakura's face. Sakura had told her about the situation when they had left Konoha.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Yes it is"

"Im lost, who's Kakashi?" Kaori looked from one to the other

"Her old teacher. She's in love with him"

"Really? Wow, how old is he?"

"Maybe a little over eleven years older than me" Sakura answered

"Lucky you that you're eighteen. I know back home if you'd been a year younger he could face some serious charges" Natara told her

"Like what?"

"Prison timeeeeeeee" Kaori sang "And maybe given some nasty labels"

"Kaori cut it out" Her friend hit her on the back of the head

"Ouch, but its true"

"Whats the name of this group you two are with?" Sakura asked trying to change the subject

"The Young Eagles. It was created for young spies. Many kids are recruited in high school and stay until the turn twenty five"

"Why twenty five"

"No one knows for sure" Kaori shrugged her shoulders "Our bosses say that it was a nice, round number"

"Do people know that you exist?" Sakura thought about the non-secrecy of ANBU

"If we do our job well then no. We prefer to work behind the scenes. Besides we're sort of a branch of our government's intelligence agency"

"Sakura I think you were a bit off on how long this would take. Lets just camp here for the night and leave early tomorrow" Natara said. The sky was getting darker

"Ok" Everyone set their stuff down.

"I'll be back. I really have to pee" With that Kaori ran off into the forest. Sakura sat down and took her sandals off. Her feet were killing her. Natara pulled a small what looked like a booklet out of her bag. She wanted to read before it got too dark

"What are you reading?"

"A comic book called X-Men" She said without looking up. Sakura nodded. At Kaori's she had learned of Natara's love for comics. While she had been gone, the comics that she ordered came to Kaori's house. Sakura had seen a few but she didn't understand it. She especially saw a lot about some guy named Batman. She decided to ask Natara about it later. She laid on her back and closed her eyes. It was peaceful until…

"Ummm…GUYS!!!" Kaori ran to them. Sakura sat up

"Whats wrong? Wipe yourself with poison ivy?" Natara grinned

"No DumDum. We have visitors" At that moment six ANBU agents appeared.

"Don't try anything ladies" One said stepping out from the group. It was Neji.

"Neji?! What are you doing here?!" Sakura jumped up. _I forgot that Neji Hyuga was ANBU now. His uncle threw him that huge celebration. I got an invite but ended up on a mission so I couldn't go._

"Sakura have you been harmed?"

"No, why?"

"There have orders to capture these two" He said referring to Natara and Kaori "There are suspicions that they have been working with Akatsuki"

"Is he serious?" Natara started to laugh

"Yes I am!" Turning back to Sakura he said "Since you disappeared, we had been looking everywhere then a source came forward and said you'd been kidnapped and that these two were helping Itachi Uchiha."  
"That's crazy! I wasn't kidnapped! Didn't the Hokage get the letter I sent?"

"What letter?" He asked puzzled

"I sent her a letter explaining everything. When we get to Konoha she'll be able to explain"

"No she wont" He shook his head. "She left on a trip yesterday. A council is ruling in her place"

"Isnt that convient" Natara whispered

"You two will be taken into ANBU custody and you Kaori Sato should be ashamed. You've represented your fellow ANBU agents badly"

"Wait a minute…" Sakura started to say

"Its ok. If we resist they'll be more suspicious so we'll turn ourselves in. Im sure Ms. Tsunade wont be gone long" Kaori said

"WHAT?! NO WAY IN HE…" Natara started to yell but her friend held a hand up silencing her. She crossed her arms and grumbled.

"Come on Natara. Its not that big of a deal. Im sure it'll all be cleared up as soon as we get to town"

"I hope so"

"Get your stuff and move" Neji said. Sakura got her things and watched as her friends were put in the center of the agents and escorted down the road. She followed behind them

* * *

It was getting darker out as Itachi sat at the kitchen table. Since Itachi had accidentally burned what Natara had fixed earlier, Kisame had invited him and his kids over to eat, along with Deidara and Tobi. Natsuki was playing with her food while Nik watched as Deidara made small animals for him.

"Itachi are you ok?" Kisame had never seen him look this down.

"He hasn't touched his soup" Tobi was sitting next to him.

"I know whats wrong with him" Natty said

"What?"

"He misses Momma" She smiled

"Awwwww, isn't that cute!" Deidara rolled his eyes

"Theres nothing wrong with me" He gave all of them an evil look

"Whatever you say. Im still tryin to get used to you as a dad" Tobi said as he took Itachi's soup and started to eat it. As they talked Nik looked around.

"Someone's here"

"What are you talking about? You've been actin weird like your Dad" Tobi put the bowl down and belched

"Disgusting" Deidara frowned

"You have terrible manners Tobi" Kisame added

"Why are you guys listenin to me?!" Nik jumped up on his chair "Someone's here!"

"Just us" Kisame tried to calm him down

"Nik's right" Natty said to Itachi "Since I could 'member he could always sense stuff others couldn't" Itachi watched his son _Something isn't right_.

"Well isn't this nice. I'll be able to capture the twins and kill their father" A woman dressed all in black and wearing a mask said as she stepped into the room

"Where'd she come from? Hiding someone from us Kisame?" Deidara sipped some of his tea

"I don't know her"

Itachi sighed. He didn't feel like doing anything, much less fight.

"Touch my kids and you're dead" He watched the woman

"Actually I don't think so" She pressed a button on a small machine attached to her outfit and immediately became invisible.

**A note from me**- Im gonna introduce a slight twist to the story soon and I decided to just leave it alone. I wont cross it over with anything. In case you didnt know, that song that Natara was singing was "Check on it" by Beyonce. I thought it sorta fit with what I was doing. I feel like Im forgetting something...


	8. Leaving

Natara and Kaori were in a small cell. It was dark, water was dripping somewhere and both were tired. Natara had immediately fallen asleep on her cot while her friend looked out of the barred window.

"Im so sorry Kaori" Sakura said outside the cell.

"Its not your fault" She turned around

"I don't understand where they'd get an idea that you two were working with Akatsuki. It doesn't make sense. I've tried talking to Neji but he's stubborn so I went to the council. No luck there either" She sighed "They want to keep you here until the Hokage gets back, yet no one knows when that'll be"

"Its no big deal Sakura. Believe me, if we wanted to escape we'd do it but if we leave that's only gonna make them more suspicious"

"I know, I know"

"Itachi you're a jerk…" They both glanced at Natara who turned over facing the wall. Sakura giggled. Kaori smiled

"Go get some rest. We'll be fine" She nodded then left. Kaori went to her cot and laid down, staring up at the ceiling.

* * *

The next morning found Sakura sleeping in her apartment.

"Sakura, wake up" She opened her eyes to see Kakashi standing over her bed

"How'd you get in here?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. He shrugged his shoulders "Did something happen?" She sat up and stretched.

"No, just wanted to check on you"

"Really?" He smiled and nodded

"Sakura, you were gone for a while and everyone was extremely worried"

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal" She pulled her blankets off and got out of bed wearing a pink short sleeved shirt with matching bottoms.

"Cute" Kakashi said. She blushed a little, then looked at him "Don't ask"

"Come on, you told me to think about it and I did, why do you keep pushing me away?"

"Im not"

"Yes you are. Why cant you just admit that you have feelings for me Kakashi?" She immediately regretted calling him that. Since she had known him she had always referred to him as sensei, not just his first name "Sorry" she whispered

"That's ok" He stepped closer to her "You understand what could happen if we do this?" He asked softly

"Yeah"

"And you're ok with that?" She nodded then said

"As long as it doesn't interfere with our missions, I think we'll be fine" She had turned 18 almost a week ago but had kept it to herself

"Ok Sakura" He moved his hand to pull his mask down. In a quick gestured it was gone. Sakura smiled. She couldn't believe how gorgeous he was. She reached her hand up to touch his face which Kakashi took a hold of and pulled her closer. Just as he was about to say something there was a knock on the door. Reluctantly Sakura pulled away and went to the door. She waited until Kakashi sat on the couch so it would look like the two had been talking then she opened it to find a breathless Naruto with Sai by his side.

"Whats going on?" She asked

"You…gotta…come…" Naruto started to say

"What he's trying to say is the Hyuga made your friend angry" Sai finished

"How angry?" Kakashi stood next to Sakura. Sai raised his eyebrow slightly then said

"He was breathing when we left if that's what you mean" Sakura's eyes got big.

"I gotta get dressed. Wait a minute" She raced to her bedroom

"What happened?" Kakashi asked. Naruto had finally caught his breath and answered

"Neji had been ordered to take the two outside for air. Me and Sai were looking for Yamato-sensei when we saw them. We wanted…"

"You wanted" Sai cut in. Naruto gave an exasperated sigh then continued

"I wanted to say hi so we walked over just in time to hear Neji ask them about the rumor that's been going around about Itachi having kids. Neither answered so he said basically if it was true he felt sorry for the them. Natara asked why and he said they'd end up being just as screwed up as him"

"Were those his exact words?" Sakura yelled

"No, I shortened it and made it nicer but after he said that other girl looked at Natara with big eyes and said 'Don't' but she didn't listen and started beating the crap out of Neji. We tried to hold her back but she was too strong. She beat him up really bad. Yamato-sensei and Guy-sensei eventually pried her off of him"

"I cant believe she did that" Sakura finally joined them again tying her headband in place

"What I don't get is if she supposedly doesn't have anything to do with Itachi, is why something like that would set her off. Her friend seemed to know instantly that she'd explode" Sai looked at Sakura, who fidgeted then gave a nervous laugh

"What are you lookin at me for? I don't know why she did that" She walked past the guys into the hallway and raced off to get to her friends

"She's hiding something" Sai stated

"I know, but nothing can be done about that now"

"Hmph" With a final glance at Kakashi, Sai walked off

"Am I missing something?" Naruto scratched his head

"Not anything more than usual" Kakashi walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. A confused Naruto trailed after him.

* * *

Sakura found her friend pacing her jail cell like a caged tiger. Kaori wasn't with her. Without stopping she said

"I guess you heard huh?"

"Its all anybody is talking about" Sakura answered "You shouldve stayed calm

"I know that" She snapped "But I wasn't gonna stand there and let him say that about my kids! Or even Itachi for that matter and on top of that I dont like him! Argh!" She screamed and punched the wall. At first nothing happened then Sakura saw cracks start to appear. "Have you seen him?"

"Not yet. I ran into this girl I know, Ino, on the way here. She had just come back from visiting him. She said he's still unconscious."

"He wont die"

"You sound confident of that"

"I am. I've been in enough fights to know when someone stands a chance at recovering or not"

"Where's Kaori?"

"With the council, trying to ask them not to kill me" She stopped pacing and sat on her cot

"You're not worried?"

"Ha! Yeah right. Those old wannabes aren't gonna do anything to me unless I let them, besides I didnt really do anything wrond" There was a pause then she said "I miss my family so much. After this mission Im staying in the states or retiring"

"Ms. Stone, the Council would like to see you" A ninja appeared next to Sakura. He unlocked the cell. She walked out. Sakura could tell by the look on her face that she was tired and stressed

"Stay with me"

"Of course" Sakura smiled to reassure her then the two followed the guard

* * *

The Council consisted of five people, three males and two females. All were old. The Council had been set up for when the Hokage was gone or emergencies. The five sat behind a long wooden desk in a big room across from the Hokage's office. The lead Councilman was a Mr. Matsui who sat in the middle and was completely bald. There were many ninja in the room. Sakura recognized many of them, including Kakashi, Naruto and Ino. When Natara was brought in there was a loud shout of anger. Sakura saw Mr. Hyuga with Hinata and Hinabi standing not too far from the Council. He had a look of complete hostility.

"Order!" Mr. Matsui yelled. Everyone quieted down. Natara looked around for Kaori and saw her friend standing in a corner with a sad look on her face. Natara stood before the Council

"Do you realize what you've done?" Mr. Matsui asked softly

"Yes"

"You could've ended a ninja's life. What provoked you?" She stayed silent "Hmmm…your friend, Kaori, told us what Neji said but it doesn't seem to warrant what you did to him"

"If you already know then why'd you ask?"

"To get your side. You and your friend were in a bad enough situation as it is. Attacking Neji shows that you were offended by what he said of Itachi which doesn't make sense. I don't know anyone who would be offended by what he said. He killed his whole family. Why would anyone want to defend him unless they work with him, you see where this is going?"

"Yes" She mumbled _What do I do? If I tell the whole story then they may understand but at what cost? My personal life is none of their business but if I don't tell this could get messier. _

"So unless you want to explain some things, you will be kept in the jail until your execution"

"What?!" Sakura and Kaori screamed at the same time. Matsui glanced at them then looked again at Natara

"For what?" She asked

"For conspiring with Akatsuki and almost killing an ANBU agent"

"I wasn't working with Akatsuki!"

"We have a source that told us otherwise"

"This isn't fair!" Sakura said

"Fair? It isn't fair that Neji's in the hospital because of her!" TenTen yelled with tears down her face. Lee had his arm around her and was trying to calm her down "Why are you even defending her Sakura?!" More people shouted the same question

"Calm down everyone" Matsui yelled. Kaori had walked over to Natara's side "That is a good question, why do you defend her Ms. Haruno?" He asked

"Hey she's not a part of this" Kaori immediately said "Leave her out of it"

"It's a simple question"

"She's probably working with them too!" TenTen said. There were shouts of agreement

"Don't say that about Sakura!" Naruto yelled

"Answer the question" Matsui said

"They're my friends. That's why" She said looking him in the eye.

"Well it doesn't matter, you haven't been found guilty of anything. Guards take Ms. Stone" There was applause and shouts. Sakura and Kaori tried to protect her but the guards pushed them out of the way. Just as one ninja reached his hand out to grab Natara's arm a knife went into it. He screamed in pain.

"Don't touch my sister" Everyone turned to the door to see a lanky, muscular guy standing there. He was brown skinned and had close cropped hair. He wore baggy jeans and a black T-shirt that said 'Get Back' in big, white lettering. He had another knife in one hand and the other in his pocket. His friend had curly red hair. He wore baggy shorts and a plain T. He was a little shorter than his friend and had a smile on his face

"Dude! Nice shot!" Kaori slowly broke into a grin. Another man walked into the room. He had graying hair and wore a black business suit. He shook his head

"No agent of mine is being killed like this" Natara recognized all three but she yelled

"Anthony!" And ran to her brother, throwing her arms around him. He pulled his sister away.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No, Im fine"

"You sure are" Red added.

"Shut up" She punched him on the arm "Where's Joaquin and Eric?"

"Eric got sick and Joaquin couldn't get off from work"

"Whats going on here?" Matsui asked

"Im sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves. Im James Walker, these two men are Anthony and Daniel" Natara's boss said. He pulled out a badge "We're with a U.S. agency, the Young Eagles"

"That's nice but you are interrupting something"

"Good, Im not gonna let you kill one of my top agents besides this case doesn't make much sense"

"She's an agent?"

"Yes, both she and Kaori are"

"Well your agent is being punished for committing a crime"

"How? You don't have very good evidence"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Supposing that this Itachi did have kids and Natara knew that. Of course she might think its out of line to say something mean about them. They had no say in who their parents were. To me it seems stupid to execute someone on suspicions that aren't proven. You claim she worked for Akatsuki so if anything she should be thanked for keeping them away from you"

"What are you talking about?" Walker rolled his eyes

"Do I really have to explain everything? Of course you've noticed how Akatsuki hasn't been bothering you lately. If Natara was with them then maybe she's the reason why. You're basing everything on suspicions that have yet to be proven"

"What about my nephew?!" Mr. Hyuga asked "You expect us to let her get away with that? He could've died!"

"I beg to differ. My agents are highly skilled and know many ways to kill people. If Natara wanted him dead he'd be dead."

"What do you want us to do? She needs to be punished at least for that"

"And I'll take care of it"

"No you wont!"

"I think you need to calm down. I said I'd take care of it so I will and besides not only is killing her a bit extreme but its not going to solve your problems. Who's this idiot anyway you claim was your source without checking the info for yourself?" Before he could answer Hinata said

"Right there!" She was looking out of a window. Everyone raced to it and looked down to see a man walking down the street

"How do you know this Hinata?" Her father asked

"I was taking a break from sparing with Shino when I heard talking" She blushed "I know I shouldn't have been listening but I did. I hid behind a tree and looked to see the Hokage talking to him. She was yelling and saying something about how she didn't believe him then she walked away"

"Hmmm…My guess is that your Hokage didn't believe that guy and when she left he found another opportunity" Walker stroked his chin

"Hinata why didn't you tell us this before?" Naruto asked. She blushed and looked down

"I thought the Hokage had already warned the Council about him. I guess she didn't"

"Hey Dimples isn't that the guy we took down for workin with Moon?" Red squinted to see the man

"Yeah I think it is" He said excuse me then pushed the window up "A yo guy with the limp" He shouted referring to his walk. The man looked up. As recognition came over his face he turned to run. "Son of a…" Tony jumped out of the window since they were on the first floor

"Wait up!" Red followed him

* * *

Itachi was sprawled out on the couch while Natsuki and her brother ran around chasing each other. After the woman had grabbed his kids the previous night he and the others started looking for her. It wasn't easy sense she could become invisible. Finally Tobi found them not too far outside of town. The others were surprised by what they saw. The woman appeared to be dead. Natty was unconscious next to her. Nik was standing with his eyes in their Sharigan mode. He collapsed unconscious next to his sister. Itachi didn't know what had happened but he picked them both up and went home. That next morning when he had tried to question Nik about what happened he didn't remember a thing about being kidnapped. Deidara and Tobi had decided to leave but not before Deidara warned Itachi that he needed to get the fox. He was thinking about what he should do when he heard the door open and Natty squeal

"Uncle Tony!"

"Natty girl!" Natsuki ran to her uncle. He enveloped her in a hug as Red walked in.

"Hi Mr. Daniel" She said

"Whats up? You've gotten a little bit bigger"

"Where's Nik?" Tony looked around until he saw his nephew standing a few feet from them "Come here" Nik slowly walked over

"He's been actin strange ever since 'esterday" Natty said

"Its 'yesterday'" Her brother corrected her

"I know what will cheer you up" Tony stood up and dug in his pocket, he pulled out a small pocket knife. Nik's eyes got big

"Is that for me?"

"Yeah" He smiled and handed it to him

"Thanks" Nik grinned

"He's too young for something like that, Nik give it back" Itachi was leaning against the couch. He didn't look happy

"But Dad…" He turned to say but then saw the look Itachi was giving him and handed the knife back to his uncle

"Whoa hold up lil man. Keep it" Tony locked eyes with Itachi. There was definitely a tension in the room. Red looked from one to the other

"How 'bout everyone just chill out for a minute?"

"Uncle Tony looks mad" Natty whispered to her brother who nodded in agreement

"Im surprised you're still here, considering the last time my sister saw you" He was getting angry

"Tony calm down" Red turned to Nik and Natty "Why don't you two go to Aunt Kaori's house"

"Ok" They mumbled then ran off

"Dude don't pull a Marcus" He said referring to how Tony's twin could never keep his cool

"Where's Natara?" Itachi asked calmly

"None of your business" Itachi narrowed his eyes. Red scratched his head and hoped that Natsuki and Nik got their mom in time.

* * *

Natara, Kaori and Mr. Walker sat around the kitchen table in Kaori's house

"Why is my brother and his best friend here?" Natara asked

"Anthony was worried about you. He even had Red sneak into your parents room to see if he could find info about your mission. He finally confessed how worried he was so I decided to bring him here" Kaori giggled

"I bet Mr. Stone was angry"

"Actually he was sleep. Joaquin told me about it after they did it. By the way he wanted me to tell you two hi"

"I miss home" Kaori said dreamily

"Me too" Natara agreed

"Then come home. Moon probably isn't here anymore"

"But sir you heard the creep Tony questioned. He said Moon had plans for somethin over here"

"I know Natara but its dangerous and you have two children"

"They're with their Dad" He shook his head

"They'd be safer back home. You'd be safer at home"

"Please let me finish this. If I don't we'll never here the end of it from Moon. He's become a bigger threat since he escaped from us the last time" Walker sighed

"Fine if you really want to do this, what about you Kaori?"

"If she stays, I stay"

"Unbelievable. My superiors wont like this"

"Momma!" Natty ran into the kitchen with her brother behind her

"What is it sweetie?"

"Oh hi Mr. Walker" Natty recognized him. He smiled. She looked back at her mom "Uncle Tony doesn't like Daddy"

"Why do you say that?"

"Cuz he was lookin at him all mean."

"Just what I need" Natara mumbled then stood up

"Where you goin?" Kaoria asked

"To prevent my hot headed brother from doin something stupid" With that she raced out of the house.

* * *

It was later that night. Tony and Red were supposed to stay with Kaori. He had made it clear that he didn't like Itachi. Luckily earlier Natara had gotten there before a fight started. Now she pacing her bedroom while everyone else was in the living room. She could hear their laughter, well everyone's except…

"Whats wrong with you?" Itachi turned on the light

"Nothing" She kept pacing. He frowned

"You're a bad liar" Natara stopped pacing

"Itachi do you…" She hesitated

"What?"

"Nothing" She started pacing again "I just think somethin isn't right"

"Nik said the same thing"

"I wish I knew what. This is frustrating" She almost cussed then remembered that she was trying to stop

"Maybe its your boss"

"Mr Walker?" She laughed "I've known him for years, yeah right"

"Just because you think you know someone doesn't mean that you do" She stopped laughing and looked at him _Is he talking about Mr. Walker or himself? _"Natara, Kisame and I are leaving tonight"

"Surprise, surprise. I knew you'd leave eventually" She gave a sad smile. For the first time in a while, he felt regret. _I don't want to leave her but I need to take care of this once and for all. _"Did you tell the kids?"

"I talked to them earlier. They understand"

"They understand? They're only four" She rolled her eyes

"You're upset"

"You figure that out all by yourself"

"Natara" She kept pacing "Natara" She still ignored him "Natara!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him

"Im not in the mood" She warned

"I don't care" He wrapped his arms around her as she rested her head against him. "Do you really have to go?" Natara whispered

"Yes, but I promise that this time I'll come back" They stood like that for a few minutes until Itachi realized she had fallen asleep that fast. He picked her up and put her on the bed. He knelt on the side and watched her. Finally he said

"I love you Natara Stone and when I get back Im going to show you how much" He kissed her forehead then got up. Natara mumbled

"I love you too Itachi" she turned on her side. He smiled then left.

A note frome me- Sorry if there's too much romance. I didnt intend for it to be this way when I started . There'll be more action in the coming chapters. Hope you guys are enjoying the story cuz I think Im gonna wrap it up soon, maybe in three or four more chapters.


	9. It Begins

"Soooooooooooo…what are you gonna do when Im gone?" Tony asked his sister. Natara and Tony sat inside the town's bakery talking. It was almost ten in the morning and Natara was half sleep. She yawned

"You already know lil bro. Im gonna take down Moon and come home"

"Really? You make it sound so easy"

"Ha! Whatever" She put her head on the table

"Sis why do you still want to deal with that loser?"

"Don't start…"

"No seriously. He left once again and you don't have a problem with that? Cuz I know I do"

"He'll be back" She mumbled

"Your great enthusiasm has convinced me" He rolled his eyes then leaned back in his chair "I cant wait to tell Marcus and Julius"

"Don't you dare!" She sat up

"They're not gonna do anything"

"Dimples you know exactly what those two will do. All three of you are too protective of me" He shrugged his shoulders

"I prefer to call it watchin out for you"

"Yeah right, remember that time you and Marcus sat in on my sniper trainin. You thought my teacher was bein too hard on me so you two took it upon yourselves to 'talk' to him"

"I remember that" He laughed "We scared him so bad he refused to teach you"

"That's not funny"

"I thought it was"

"Hey guys" Kaori walked up. She pulled two chairs to the table

"Why you pullin up two?" Tony asked

"One's for me and one's for…"

"Me" Sasuke sat down while Kaori sat in the other chair. Natara noticed how much he looked like Itachi

"Who are you? Ya look like Natara's loser boyfriend"

"Shut up!" Natara glared at him

"Make me"

"Im gonna kick your…"

"Natara and Anthony, would you guys calm down? This is important" Kaori interrupted

"Whatever" They both mumbled. Tony stuck his tongue out at her causing his sister to flick him off

"Now that I've got your attention, this is Sasuke Uchiha. I sorta ran into him while I was getting some air earlier this morning" Hearing his last name caused Natara and Tony to look at her in surprise "Yes, he's Itachi's brother"

"He mentioned you before but he didn't really elaborate" Natara said "What do you want?"

"To find out what's really going on"

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you that he didn't kill his family?" Kaori asked

"Yeah" Natara frowned

"I never had time to tell you everything. Your Dad and some former Y.E.'s know what really happened"

"Whoa, repeat that" Tony rested his chair on the floor

"There was an agent who was in Konoha when the killings happened. He was an Eagle on his last mission. I think he's in the C.I.A. now. Im gonna tell you guys this but its top secret."

"Just tell me what you know" Natara said. Kaori sighed then put a folder on the table

"Whats this?" Tony picked it up

"It has info about Akatsuki. I found it in your apartment Natara"

"Oh yeah, someone sent it to me but I never got the chance to look at it. Let me see Tony"

"In a minute"

"It has info about every single Akatsuki member. Stuff that many people don't know"

"How would you have that?" Sasuke asked. Tony smirked

"Yo, our agency has a file on every person they consider a threat to our country. Im sure it wasn't hard to get all this"

"Well Ms. Stone if you had read through this folder you would've found some interesting things" Kaori said

"Like?"

"Like how our agent says that Itachi had nothing to do with his families killings"

"What?" To say Sasuke was shocked was an understatement. "I know he did it. I was there"

"Come on" Kaori rolled her eyes "Did you ever think about how weird all of it was? I mean could you ever imagine your brother killing someone?" He shook his head

"Not at first but then again I never imagined him as a father either"

"Good point" Tony gave the folder to his sister

"Ok then this story is gonna sound whatever but the agent sent you the folder Natara"

"How do you know?" She said without looking up

"I talked to them personally" That got her attention

"Kaori quit playin"

"Im not. I cant give you his name since he's undercover right now but he and some of his friends were here when the murders happened. I want you guys to pay attention ok?" They all nodded "The agent had just completed his last mission and had decided to go on vacation with a couple of his friends. Since he'd been to Konoha before he decided to go there for a few weeks. Being the typical Eagle he wanted to keep up on his fighting moves so he and his friends would often spar on the training grounds. One day they were out there when they saw a dazed kid walking towards them. Of course he didn't know it was Itachi. He'd heard about the Uchiha clan but had never met one. He asked him what was wrong then invited to stay with him and his friends which Itachi did. For the next few days after that Itachi would come and spar with them. Then near the end of their vacation they were at a ramen stand when they heard shouts and all that. The agent asked someone running by what happened. He told them all the Uchiha's had been murdered by one of their own, Itachi. They had known his name and who he was by then but they didn't believe the story since he had been sparing with them only five minutes ago. The agent was getting worried so he went off to find Itachi. He decided to go back to the training grounds and found him sitting down with his head in his hands. When the agent tried to talk to him, he stood up and said he had to go and that everything had gone wrong. Before the agent could say something, Itachi ran off" There was silence when she finished.

"That's a crazy story" Tony finally said

"I know"

"How did or why would this guy contact my sister or you?"

"Everyone knows who the father of Natara's kids were back at headquarters. When the agent found out he sent the folder to Natara so she'd know the truth"

"He really believes Itachi is innocent?" Sasuke asked

"He promises on his life. Natara and Tony would know the agent Im talking about if I named him. He's known for his honesty. Plus his friends who were with him back up his story"

"If he didn't kill my family then who did? It doesn't make since" Sasuke said

"Wait a minute. All ya'll ninjas over here can do that transformin thing right?" Tony asked

"Yeah"

"Well then maybe someone transformed themselves into your brother. Maybe he was framed even though that sounds crazy"

"If that's the case then why would he leave and there's still his best friend who was murdered"

"Natara you've been quiet" Tony looked at her. She was looking out the window

"Akatsuki was just getting started when all this happened right?"

"Yep why?"

"I think maybe its all connected"

"You don't have anything else?" Sasuke asked Kaori

"No" She shook her head

"Maybe he didn't do it" He whispered then said to Natara "Did you ever see a scar going down his back?" She turned her head in surprise

"How do you know about that?'

"I was there when it happened. He got it protecting your son and I guess my nephew. My stupid partner got a little out of control and was going to cut Nik with his sword but Itachi got in the way. After that was when I started to think that maybe he had changed"

"I asked him about it but he never told me" Sasuke stood up

"Where you goin Saki?' Tony asked

"Sasuke" Natara and Kaori corrected

"That's what I said" They both rolled their eyes

"I need to find my teammates" With that he left the table.

"That mo'fo is as weird as his brother" Tony watched him go

"So whats the plan now?" Kaori asked

"I've been thinking about somethin Itachi mentioned before he left. We need to get back to my apartment" She got up "Lil bro take care of this for me" She gestured to the food and drinks on the table then left. Kaori smiled then followed her

" 'Lil bro take care of this for me'" He mocked his sister " She always be leavin me to pay somethin, that's why Im always broke" He mumbled as he put money on the table and grabbed the folder.

"What I don't get is if this agent and his buddies knew that Itachi didn't do it then why didn't they tell someone?" Tony and Kaori were walking up the stairs to the apartment. Natara had raced ahead of them.

"He said no one believed them. Think about it. The Uchihas are murdered and Itachi runs off. Im guessing that made him look really guilty and the fact that Sasuke 'saw' him there"

"I guess you got a point" He squinted to see his sister banging on the door. She turned to him and yelled

"I thought Red would be up by now"

"Calm down, your kids are probably torturin him" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He threw it to her.

"I thought you two were gonna stay with me last night" Kaori said. He shrugged

"We got tired and didn't feel like leavin"

"Kaori! Tony!" They heard Natara scream. The two looked at each other then raced down the rest of the hall. They walked into the apartment to find it a wreck. The couch was overturned. Chairs were out of place. There looked like glass was on the floor. One window had a crack on it.

"What happened?" Kaori looked around

"Nik and Natsuki" Natara ran to their room

"Looks like there was a fight or somethin" Tony stepped over an overturned coffee table

"Yeah" She touched the cracked window "Some fight"

"They're gone!" Natara came back out holding Natsuki's stuffed dog and Nik's notebook.

"You sure? Maybe they're hiding" Tony started looking under things. Natara collapsed on the floor

"No they're gone. I knew somethin wasn't right" She whispered.

"Hey guys…" Tony said

"What?" Kaori asked

"I found Red" She walked over to the kitchen area to see him on the floor "I think he's unconscious" Natara walked over and kicked him hard

"Yo calm that down sis"

"He needs to wake up so he can tell us what happened" She kicked him again

"Stop it" He mumbled the slowly opened his eyes

"Take it easy man, you ok?" Tony said

"Im fine but the kids"

"Gone" Natara answered

"Just great. Im sorry. He just took me by surprise" He rubbed his forehead

"Did you get a good look at the creep who did this?" Kaori asked

"It was Walker wasn't it?" Natara asked calmly

"That's a big claim! Where did that come from?" Her best friend shrieked

"Im not wrong, am I Red?"

"She's right" He looked at the floor

"Wait a minute, you're telling me our boss, the guy we've known for years, who was like part of the family did this? There's no way" Tony said

"But its true. I was sleep on the couch when he came in. I don't think he expected me to be here. I woke up cuz I heard Natara crying so I walked to her room and saw him pick Nik up. He had knocked him unconscious and was tryin to do the same to Natty except when she saw me she ran from him out of the room and into the hall. I asked him what he was doing and he said nothin. I remember Natty tellin me that there was someone else in here and then everything went black. I don't know why they dragged me to the kitchen" He rubbed the back of his head

"I cant believe this. Not only are my niece and nephew gone but they were taken by someone we trusted" Tony sat on the floor then looked at his sister "You said Itachi mentioned something before he left, what was it?"

"I told him somethin wasn't right and he basically asked if it was our boss"

"Unbelieveable" Kaori leaned against the kitchen counter "So what do we do now?"

"What do we do?" Natara looked at all of them then at the stuffed dog and notebook in each of her hands. "We go get my kids back and kill the people who're responsible"

"Why didn't anyone come check out what was goin on? It had to have been loud knowin Natty" Tony asked

"Many people on this floor work during the day lil bro" Natara started pacing "I need someone to check out around town and see if anyone saw anything"

"I'll do it" Red started to stand

"No you relax for a minute. Can you do it Tony?" He nodded

"Im headed out but I'll be back in a hour or two"

"Where you goin?"

"I gotta talk to my Uncle" She gave a sad smile

* * *

Meanwhile in a small house James Walker sat in a chair thinking,

"The girl put up more of a fight than I thought"

"Of course she did. The scratches on you say that" Moon laughed

"This isn't funny. Daniel wasn't supposed to be there."

"Luckily I sent someone with you"

"Natara will be beyond angry. I cant believe I did this to her"

"Oh calm down. This is part of a much bigger plan. I don't even know why you brought the girl. We only needed the boy."

"She wouldn't shut up or leave me alone. I thought she'd be asleep. HQ probably have found out. I'll be branded a traitor and killed"

"What are you crying about? You forget about your countries justice system, Im sure IF you are caught I'd be able to provide you a very good defense team"

"Eagles know ways to get around the law"

"Have a pity party. I don't care. I have more important things to do" He stood up

"Such as?"

"The famous leader of Akatasuki wants to meet with me" Walker raised an eyebrow

"What for? I thought we didn't like him"

"Ha! The reason I wanted Itachi's son was because of him. The plans changed a little"

"A little?! Im not giving Nik to that lunatic!"

"Look I don't trust him either but if we give him the boy then he'll help me get rid of the eagles. They're the only ones who stand in my way"

* * *

Nik awoke on a bed in a small room with no windows. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around

"Natsuki?" His sister wasn't in the room with him. He got up and walked to the door. He tried to open it but it was locked. He thought he heard mumbling on the other side so he put his ear to the door

"How long we gotta guard this kid?"

"Only a few more hours. The boss wants to send the boy to Akatsuki"

"Really? That's weird"

"Yeah"

"What about the girl?"

"Don't know. That idiot wasn't supposed to bring her back"

"Boss shoulda sent someone else"

"Didn't he send Johnny with him?'

"Yep but that Walker almost got 'em in some trouble" Nik took his ear off the door and wiped a tear away. He heard a key rattling on the other side. He took a step back and watched as his mom's boss entered the room.

"How do you feel Nik?" Nik shrugged his shoulders "I know you're upset and confused but…" He shut the door behind him "Im sorry"

"Where's my sister?"

"She's safe, don't worry"

"Why'd you take us?"

"I shouldn't have" Walker sighed and sat on the edge of the bed "I let myself be caught up in this. Moon is crazy. He's even willing to work with Akatsuki to accomplish his goals" He looked at Nik "You probably don't know who they are, do you?"

"My Daddy worked for them" Walker raised an eyebrow

"What do you mean 'worked'? He still does" Nik whispered

"No he doesn't. He told me and Natty that he was going to kill their leader"

"Did he say why?"

"He said that his leader did somethin bad to our family a long time ago" Walker thought for a minute

"Nik lets keep this between us but Im gonna get you out of here"

"Natty?"

"Your sister too. I know you're just four, almost five, but you're smart for your age so I'll tell you something. Moon wanted to send you to Akatsuki and kill Natty"

"Why?"

"The leader over there wants you for some reason, maybe its because you're a Uchiha"

"Whats that?" Walker smiled

"Its what you are. Its what Natty and your Dad are"

"What about Uncle Sasuke?"

"He is too. Anyways I'll be back soon. Stay calm until then" Nik nodded. As he stood to leave Walker wondered if the stories he'd heard about Nik were true. Even though he'd known him since he was a baby he'd never trained nor seen him fight. The Three had done that. Stories had started circulating back home that Nik could do extraordinary things. Walker smiled and gave Nik some candy then he left. _There's no proof he's tellin the truth. Well I have a backup plan if he isn't. I'm learning to control it better just like they taught me. Don't worry Natty, with or without Mr. Walker I'll save you_ He threw the candy against the wall.

* * *

Natara stood against a tree near a small lake. She was on one of the training grounds. After talking with HQ, she was told to wait until more agents arrived but she had no intention of doing that. _I have to get it together. They need me. I wish Itachi…no I cant think about him right now. Gotta focus on my kids but where do I start?_

"Natara" She jumped a little and looked up to see Sasuke standing on a tree branch. He landed in front of her

"Hey Sasuke, what are ya doin here?"

"Tell me about Itachi"

"Tell you about him? How he was when I was there?" He nodded. Natara thought for a minute then went to sit at the edge of the lake. She took her shoes off and put her feet in the water. Sasuke sat next to her

"Well he was rude, mean, cold and sometimes wouldn't speak to me at all. This is before Natty and Nik. Other times he could be kind and sweet"

"What about now?"

"I'd say now he's a mix in between. I never know what mood he's gonna be in. Maybe that's because of all that's happened, you know the whole thing with your family and now he's a dad. Why?"

"I…grew up the day my clan was murdered. I used to look up to him. After that I only had one goal and that was to kill him but I don't know anymore"

"What were you gonna do if you did kill him?"

"Don't know. I never thought about it"

"I have an idea"

"What?"

"Sakura mentioned somethin about a friend who had left Konoha. She never told me their name but Im gonna guess its you. Some of the stuff she said matches with what I know about you so far"

"Sakura and Naruto" He looked down at the water

"You should go back and make things right again with them. I know deep down you miss 'em"

"I wanted to talk to my brother"

"You can still do that" She smiled then said "I know Sakura missed you the way she talked and Im sure that the other one misses you too"

"I needed to focus and they were only getting in the way"

"Having good friends makes you stronger not weaker" He thought for a moment then said "Maybe you're right but I cant just show up there"

"Sure ya could. After you talk to them then go talk to the Hokage"

"Thanks" He stood and helped Natara up.

"Awww you have that same look that Nik gets when he's sleepy. That's so cute" She pinched his cheeks and started laughing

"Don't let her do that to you!" They turned to see Tony and Red walking towards them. Natara put her hands on her hips

"Tony shut up and shouldn't you be layin down?" She asked Red. He shrugged

"He wanted to get some air" Tony hit him on the back of his head causing his friend to yell in pain

"DUDE!"

"Whoa, sorry man. I forgot" He gave a sheepish smile. Natara sighed

"Red since youre here, this is Sasuke"

"Hey" He was rubbing his head

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked

"To make it short, our boss took Nik and Natty" Natara whispered

"What do you mean 'took'?" He looked at her then the rest of them "He kidnapped them?!" They all nodded "What are we doing about it?"

"I want you to go back to Konoha first" She said

"Not yet"

"Yes, make things right with everyone there. We'll be fine"

"Just do what she says cuz she can be stubborn as a…" Tony caught himself. She crossed her arms

"As a what?"

"Nothin sis"

"He was gonna say donkey aka jackass" Red spoke up. Tony gave him a mean look

"Thanks"

"No problem"

"I'll deal with you two later" She turned back to Sasuke "You should get goin"

"Im not staying longer than a day"

"Ok" In the next instant he was gone. "Come one you two. You can tell me what you found on the way back" She started walking

* * *

The sun was starting to set as Itachi and Kisame walked. Both wore their Akatsuki robes and hats. Itachi hadn't said anything since they'd left last night.

"Your're silence is killing me" He didn't say anything "Itachi where are we going? I know its not to get the fox since Konoha is the other way. Whats going on?" Itachi stopped walking and looked at his partner

"I plan on getting revenge Kisame. You can turn back now if you want" He started walking again. Kisame was surprised then caught up with Itachi

"What are you talking about?"

"I plan on killing our leader" Kisame's mouth dropped open

"What?! Why?! Where's this coming from?!"

"He killed my family"

"Start from the beginning" He closed his eyes for a minute

"He was just strating Akatsuki when I was younger. He had wanted me to join then or at least allow myself to be his student but I didn't want to. He asked what was keeping me from joining. I told him I cared about my family too much"

"So he killed them because you wouldn't join?"

"No he did it so I would. He thought that if he severed the ties that had with my family and friends that I'd have nothing left and would come to him"

"That night it was him? He mustve used a transformation jutsu. Why didn't he kill Sasuke?"

"He used him to keep me. For a while I didn't think Sasuke was still alive. Then he told me"

"He threatened to kill your brother too"

"Yes"

"This is a lot to take in Itachi"

"I don't expect you to believe me"

"I've come to trust you though" Kisame said "Well I seriously doubt you'd make up something like this but why would you let everyone continue to think that you did this?"

"If I exposed him…"

"…he'd kill Sasuke. I forgot. What about your best friend who was murdered?"

"I never did that either"

"Then how did you get the Makegeyo Sharigan?" Itachi smirked

"I'll tell you one day" Kisame smiled "You don't have to do this"

"You already told me"

"He wont be like anyone we've fought before. You could die"

"So could you. Can you believe that I've come to view you as a friend? Maybe that's why Im doing this" They continued to walk in silence, each in their own thoughts.

* * *

Sasuke stood outside Konoha's gate with his teammates. The moon and stars were out, giving them light to see each other.

"You sure about this?" Jugo asked. Sasuke nodded "Ok, but remember if you need anything you know where to find me" He gave a final smile then disappeared.

"Im not good at good bye's so I'll just see ya later" Suigetsu disappeared too. Karin was the last one

"I'll miss you Sasuke. Take care of your self"

"Thanks for everything" He said

"No problem. I hope things work out with you and your brother. I cant believe I said that" Sasuke had told his teammates what he had learned earlier that day. She walked up to him and gave him a quick hug then she too disappeared. Sasuke sighed and walked inside the village. He had an idea of where to find Naruto. He found his friend, along with Sakura and Kakashi sitting at their favorite ramen bar.

"Lady Tsunade comes back tonight" Sakura announced

"Its about time" Naruto said with a full mouth. "Where was she?"

"Not sure. I wasn't here when she left anyway, remember?"

"Oh yeah"

"Hi Sasuke" Kakashi said calmly

"What?! Where?!" Sakura and Naruto shouted at the same time.

"Behind us" They turned around and saw him standing with his hands in his pockets. Naruto hesitated at first until Sasuke said

"Im home" Naruto jumped off his seat and hugged him.

Now Sasuke was sitting in Naruto's apartment while his friend babbled on about what had been happening since he was gone. Sakura let him talk while she painted her toenails. Kakashi was lounging on the couch reading his newest Icha Icha books

"And I think that's about it" Naruto finally finished. No one had really been listening to him but he didn't seem to notice.

"What brought you back?" Kakashi asked without looking up. He hesitated then Naruto interrupted saying

"He missed us of course"

"No that's not it, why did you come back?" Kakashi sat up and watched him "Last time Naruto and Sakura saw you, you almost killed them. Now all of a sudden you want to come back? Sasuke I know you better than that" His friends looked at him.

"I know this all has to do with Itachi" Everyone turned to him "Sakura is hiding something too"

"Ka…" She caught herself "Sensei what do you mean?"

"When you came back it was obvious, at least to me, that somethings going on. You guys should give me some credit. I know all three of you too well"

"Why Itachi though?" Naruto asked

"Because when Sakura left, she was dealing with the woman who was rumored to be involved with Akatsuki. She put Neji in the hospital for something that wouldn't offend any normal person"

"Really?" A small grin came on Sasuke's face

"Yes and you left because you wanted to kill Itachi. So whats going on? Why'd your goal change all of a sudden?" Sakura glanced at the floor then said

"What I say doesn't leave this room got it?" Everyone nodded. She sighed

"She's gonna be so mad. That woman, Natara, she's the mother of Itachi's children" There was a stunned silence

"Sakura how long have you known that?" Sasuke asked

"For a while now" She looked at the expression on his face. He didn't seem as surprised as everyone else which Sakura to say "You already knew" He nodded "What were you hiding then?"

"Natara and her friend think my brother didn't kill our family" Now it was Sakura's turn to be surprised

"Do they have proof?"

"Sort of. Some of their agents were here the day it happened. They said Itachi had been with them"

"I didn't expect anything like this" Kakashi scratched his head. Meanwhile on the outside of the door Ino stood frozen in shock. She had come to Naruto's apartment to see if Sakura was there. Now she heard Sasuke's voice and this stuff about his brother.  
"I cant believe this" She tiptoed from her spot then raced down the hall and out of the building.

* * *

All Tsunade wanted to do was rest. It was around 8 in the morning. She and Shizune had come in late last night and were now sitting in her office. Both were tired but she was happy

"I still cant believe I won so much. That tournament was great!"

"I was shocked that you didn't lose all of our money" Tsunade laughed

"You gotta have some faith in me! The first thing we should do is go to that fancy restaurant. You know the one where all the rich people go to eat. Today's gonna be a good day!"

"Yeah but maybe we shouldve told the council where we were going"

"Ha! Those old birds would've just gave me a speech about taking care of my responsibilities. I needed a break" Her office door opened and Ino poked her head in

"May I speak with you Hokage?"

"Sure" Ino came in, followed by Shikamaru and Choji "Why do you three look so crazy? Whats wrong?" She hesitated until Shikamaru elbowed her

"I think you should know something" As she told her, Tsunade's smile fell and was replaced by a look of shock. Ino finally stopped talking

"Are you sure of what you heard?" She nodded.

"If what you say is true then it would explain a few things. Shizune send someone to go get Sakura and her friends"

"Yes Hokage" She left the room.

"Do I have to be here? I don't want her to think I was eavesdropping on purpose" Ino said

"Too late for that"

"What are you gonna do when they get here?" Shikamaru asked

"I'll give her a chance to be truthful but its not like she committed a crime. This has to be the craziest thing I've heard since that rumor goin around some time ago that Jiraiya had finally settled down"

"He did?" Ino and Choji asked

"No, come on. That pervert is never gonna settle down, that's why it was crazy" Time seemed to tick by slowly but finally Shizune walked into the room followed by Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke. Even though Ino had heard his voice she was still surprised to see him.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? When did you decide to grace everyone with your presence Sasuke Uchiha?" Tsunade raised and eyebrow.

"Lady Tsuade I can explain" Sakura started to say but the Hokage held her hand for silence.

"You don't need to. I just find it amazing that someone who has caused the Leaf Village so much pain and trouble has come back on such a short notice. Tell me did you get tired of never being able to catch that brother of yours?" Ino gasped. Shikamaru and Choji exchanged glances. Sakura kept twisting a strand of hair while Naruto mentally hoped Sasuke would keep his cool. Shizune shook her head. "Don't be upset Uchiha. Just because you're back doesn't mean everything will be forgotten. You put your friends through hell! Did you expect a great parade celebrating your return?! And on top of this I find out that your brother has two children with a young woman who I nursed back to health. But wait there's more! And I found out Itachi may not have killed your clan after all! My day just keeps getting better and better"

"How did you find out?" Sakura asked

"Me" She turned to Ino "I went to Naruto's looking for you and I heard you guys talking. Don't be mad at me. I was only doing what I felt was right" Sakura turned back around and balled her hand into a fist. She couldn't stand Ino at times. _Why couldn't she keep this one secret?!_

"Are you going to yell at us or what?" Sasuke crossed his arms. Tsunade stood up.

"No but you are going to tell me everything you know right now"

"If I don't?"

"Sasuke…" Naruto warned

"I'll personally kick you out of the village, then ban you from ever returning" She said in a low voice. The tension that was developing became thick. Tsunade smiled "Of course if you really care about your friends then you'll talk. Out!" Everyone filed from the room. Sakura was last and as she left she gave a last glance at Sasuke, who looked like he wanted to wipe the smile off Tsuande's face.

* * *

"You look nice Kaori" Natara stepped back and looked her friend over. She was dressed in a light blue kimono with matching heels and her hair in a bun. She wore a wig and had make up on "Hopefully no will recognize you, now whats the plan?" Kaori sighed then said

"To tell Sasuke what we're doing and check on Sakura"

"Why cant you do this again?"

"I'd be recognized easier than you. Really how many people over here have my skin color?"

"Alright"

"Exactly"

"We'll wait for ya here"

"See ya" She grabbed a purse and walked out.


	10. note from the author

**A note from me**: This isnt a chapter as you can see but I thought this might happen. I've started working and going to school and therefore don't have much time to write anymore. As a result I've started to lose interest in this and actually all my stories. I just don't have enough time. Yes there are the weekends but by the time that comes around I don't feel like writing, only being lazy and playing my DS. So if anyone wants me to continue this story let me know, I'll at least finish it before I completely stop doing these stories and delete my account. If I don't get enough responses then I'll discontinue it. I do like my story but its just getting harder and harder to keep up with it. In closing send me a message if you want me to finish it. You may wonder why I didn't delete the account and not worry about if people are reading it but I thought that would be sorta messed up, especially for all the folks who've been keeping up with this. I'll give this a few days then make my decision. Thanks


	11. Almost There

**A note from me**: Not very long, I know but I wanted to put out something. Thanks for the messages. I decided to just finish the story, I don't have that much more to go anyway. Enjoy _  
_

It was dark but the moon had become enough light for Tony and Red, the lights posted outside the village gates also helped.

"How long do we gotta wait?" Red whined. He leaned against a tree.

"I'll give him five more minutes" Tony said without looking up. He was sitting on the ground with his friends shoes with him, one he was holding while the other sat in front of him. Red's shoes had been all white until Tony decided to draw some designs on them because he had been bored. "Ya know drawin on shoes aint never been my thing but these don't look half bad" He held it up. On one side of the shoe he'd drawn an eagle and on the other he'd made Red's real name in large letters.

"Yeah it looks nice, can I have my shoes back now?"

"I didn't do the other one"

"That's ok" Tony shrugged then threw them to him. Just as Red was putting the last one on Sasuke appeared

"Dude what took you so long?" Red finished tying his shoe

"It was harder leaving than I thought"

"We almost thought you hadn't gotten Kaori's message" Tony stood up. Even though Sasuke had been on house arrest, Kaori had managed to find him and tell him to meet up with Red and Tony.

"What are we doing?"

"We're gonna find Itachi" Tony answered

"How?"

"Didn't Kaori explain about the whole tracking device thing?" Tony had placed a small object, the size of a button, on Itachi's robe. He claimed he'd done it in case Itachi ran off again, so he and Tony could 'talk' at least that's what he told his sister when she found out

"I forgot, lets go then"

"Pump ya brakes, give me a minute" Tony dug in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "Alright the device is connected to my phone so let me pull up the screen"

"Your agency lets you do this?"

"No, I put it together and we'd probably get in trouble for this. They like us to use government issued stuff." Red answered

"Red has the brains and I have the muscle" He mumbled then looked up suddenly "You guys hear that?" The others listened. A noise that sounded like a sneeze came from above Red in the tree. Sasuke threw a few kunai into it.

"Ahhhhhh! Sasuke whats your problem?" Sakura fell onto the ground. She jumped up and looked around nervously

"What are you doing here Sakura?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

"_Naruto Im gonna follow Sasuke" Sakura told him_

"_You really think he's gonna try and escape? Especially after the Hokage's warnings?" The two were outside the Hokage's office. She had ordered him to remain at his house until she decided what to do. Since he didn't have anywhere to live Naruto let Sasuke stay with him. Tsunade had also ordered ninja to keep an eye on him and that if he escaped they had permission to capture him, dead or alive. _

"_I know he's not going to stay in your apartment this whole time. We both know he likes getting a rush out of fighting"_

"_Sakura but I don't think he'd do that intentionally. He could be killed"_

"_If they catch him"_

"_Yeah but how do you know he's gonna leave?"_

"_I don't know, I just get a feeling" _

"_Alright fine but if it gets bad come back for help"_

"_Ok" He crossed his arms_

"_See I knew you still had feelings for him. Even with that dumb rumor going around"_

"_What rumor?"_

"_Nothing really, just that you and Kakashi-sensei supposedly care for each other and are secretly dating"_

"_What?!" _

"_I know, that's what I said too" He smiled "Don't worry Sakura. No one believes it, its just a rumor right?" He patted her on the shoulder and walked away_

"_Right" She mumbled_

"I knew you'd leave so I followed you" She whispered

"Is this your girlfriend?" Red asked. Sakura blushed

"No she's not" Sasuke answered. He gave her an annoyed look

"Sakura is it?" Tony asked. She nodded "Since you're here you should just come with us. My sister told me about you. Im Anthony and the freckled kid is Red"

"Hi" She said

"Now that we know each other, lets get goin"

* * *

Tsunade felt like she was going to explode any minute. She paced her office then would sit then get up and pace some more. She looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning. Apparently Sasuke had disappeared last night. The ninja who were supposed to be watching him had fallen asleep. On top of that Sakura was missing too. Of course the ninja didn't realize he was gone until they woke up the following morning. She found out Sakura was gone because Kakashi had gone to visit her. She smirked _Of course he was "visiting". _The door opened and Shizune rushed in

"Well?" Shizune caught her breath

"No word. They've both disappeared"

"JUST GREAT!" Tsunade screamed. She slammed her fist on the desk.

"One more thing"

"What?!"

"You have a visitor" With that she rushed out again. A couple of seconds passed then a blonde haired man came into the room. He was a little taller than Tsunade and was blonde. He wore sunglasses that hid his eyes. He wore dress pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a couple of the top buttons unfastened.

"Who are you?" Tsunade crossed her arms. She was in no mood for games

"Im Nick Adams" He had an accent that Tsunade hadn't heard before "Im a friend of a young lady named Natara Stone"

"What do you want with her?"

"She's on a very dangerous mission right now and I'd like to find her to make sure she's fine. I don't want to have to explain to her Daddy that I couldn't get to her in time" Tsunade sat on the edge of her desk and motioned for her guest to take the chair in front of her

"So you're American too?" He sat down

"Yes ma'am"

"Then why don't you sound like her. You have a…"

"Southern accent" She raised an eyebrow "Her mom and I grew up together in a state called Alabama. She has one too."

"Ok but why did you come here? And do you work for the same people Natara does?"

"Yes and no. I used to but I work for a different agency now. Officially Im here to stop her but unofficially Im here to make sure the man she's after doesn't do what we think he's going to" She thought for a minute

"Look I'd like to help you but I have my own problems to deal with"

"Sasuke Uchiha"

"What? How did you know?"

"I know a lot of things, for instance how his brother didn't kill their family"

"And how would you know that?" He smiled then pulled his sunglasses off revealing a pair of dark blue eyes

"I know because Itachi was with me the entire time" Tsunade's mouth dropped open. Before she could say anything Shizune rushed back into the room

"Im really sorry Hokage but you're needed" Tsunade looked at Nick who smiled

"I'll wait for you"

"Alright, Shizune make this quick! I'll be right back" She said to him then she and Shizune disappeared. Nick closed his eyes and twirled his sunglasses

* * *

Natara listened to the clock in her and Kaori's room. She watched it impatiently. They had rented a room at a small inn across the street from where Moon was throwing a big party. They had bought dresses and were waiting for it to start. Too bad that wasn't until the next afternoon

"Relax Natara" Kaori stared at the ceiling on one of the beds "Get some rest cuz we're gonna need it for tomorrow"

"Yeah, yeah. I wish we could end this now"

"You waited a couple of years to finally get to this point. Im sure you could wait another day. Besides, we don't want to blow our cover too early" Natara sighed then went to look out of the window. It looked down on the street below. She saw an older couple walking hand in hand, then a young mother trying to carry her baby. She felt sorry for her and wondered why no one helped her but then a man came up beside her and took the baby. She guessed that was her husband

"You're doing it again" Kaori said

"Doing what?"

"Watching the families" Natara had started the habit when she became pregnant. She'd watch other couples with or without children and wish it was her one day "You know for all that toughness you show on the outside, on the inside the whole Itachi thing is killing you"

"Not any more than usual"

"Don't worry Natara. I bet when this is all over he'll stay with you"

"If neither of us gets killed first" She mumbled

"Come on, I know what will cheer you up" She threw a football at her

"Where'd you get this?" She turned around and picked it up

"Your dorky brother brought it with him but forgot it at my house, wanna go find somewhere to play?"

"Of course!" The two raced out of the room to find an empty field

* * *

Itachi and Kisame had stopped in a large village on the northern border of the Land of Fire. Both were sitting underneath a big tree. Kisame watched the people go by while Itachi appeared to be asleep. Kisame picked a blade of grass then said

"How much farther?"

"Its at the edge of this town"

"What exactly is the plan?"

"I kill him"

"You make it sound so easy. Whats this you mentioned earlier about him being a puppet?" Itachi didn't answer "Itachi?" Kisame turned to see his partner looking at a ring with a small diamond on the top in the shape of a rose. He stood up

"Kisame if I don't live through this, I want you to give this to Natara for me" Kisame nodded

"If you do live?" Itachi gave a rare smile

"I'll give it to her myself"

* * *

"_He's too young!" Nik heard his mom say "They both are!" He had crept from his bedroom and was now in the hall listening to his mom talk to someone. _

"_YOU think they're too young"_

"_They're gonna do the whole ninja thing while we're there" Nik peeked around the corner and saw a man with dark, spiky hair. He recognized who it was, but he wondered why his mom was so upset_

"_Ninja" The man said in disgust "They're nothing but cowards"_

"_Or course you'd think that" She rolled her eyes_

"_Besides have you even thought about who could teach them to use their Sharigan?"_

"_Who told you about that?"_

"_Your father. Natsuki and Nik could be very strong if you let me train them"_

"_He's right sweetie" Nik heard his grandpa's deep voice "They have so much talent. Its not like they'll be trained by complete strangers"_

"_But…"_

"_Remember when I started training you?"_

"_Yes"_

"_How old were you?"_

"_Five"_

"_Only a couple of years older than they are now. Believe me, those two are smart enough to catch on. I mean they're already reading at a third grade level. They're not stupid kids"_

"_Don't worry we'll take care of them" Another voice said. Nik didn't want to peek any farther around because he'd get caught but he recognized the voice _

"_Alright fine, but if anything happens…"_

"_Nothing will happen" The first man said. Natara sighed_

"_Well now that that's out of the way, can I get something to eat? I feel like I haven't eaten in days!"_

"_You always feel that way" The first man said. He turned his head and caught Nik watching them. He smirked then signaled with his eyes for him to go to bed._

Nik sat on the edge of the bed. He'd heard the guards outside talking of taking him to Akatsuki today. He was nervous but he knew what he had to do. Walking up to the door he closed his eyes and concentrated. Chakra began to build in one of his hands. He balled it up into a fist then punched the door. Wood splattered everywhere.

"What the?!" He heard one of the guards yell. Nik opened his eyes to reveal the Sharigan and watched as the guards started to tremble "Wasn't he trained by…?" One started to say

"Yeah I was" Then last thing the men saw was a bright light.

* * *

Meanwhile Tsunade and Nick were sitting in her office. He'd been telling her of how that fateful day Itachi had been sparring with him and his friends

"You're absolutely sure?" She asked

"Positive ma'am. I know that boy wasn't capable of murder" Tsuanade thought for a minute then said

"There's so much I don't understand"

"I'd like to stay and explain more than what I've told you but I don't have the time." He stood

"Wait you're going after Natara by yourself? You just said this man she's after is dangerous. I can send some ANBU agents with you"

"No offense but I'd do a better job by myself" He smiled then stood "Well Ms. Tsunade, it was nice meeting you"

"I'm sorry I don't have more info to give you than what Sakura told me"

"I got everything I needed" With another smile he put his sunglasses back on and headed for the door. Shizune walked in after he left

"He had some more people with him"

"Really?"  
"Yes, they waited outside"

"Probably more of his agents. I don't understand Shizune" The Hokage collapsed in her chair. "Out of that conversation he seemed to get something out of it that I didn't"

"Maybe he was able to figure out something about Natara"

"I guess" Tsunade laid her head back

"_Ok so you're saying that you'd been with Itachi for awhile"_

"_Yes ma'am. Actually our whole trip. He didn't talk much but he seemed to want someone to hang around with, even though my friends and I were older"_

"_Well you told me what you know but there's not much for me to tell you. My apprentice told me the same thing only without all the detail and that Itachi is the father of Natara's twins. Since you know her, can you tell me if she really has children or is this another rumor?"_

"_Its true. You should see them, they look just like him. Nik and Natsuki. She named the first one after me" He laughed a little_

"_Wow, this would definitely explain a few things" She closed her eyes to think_

"_You mentioned Sasuke was under surveillance"_

"_Yeah, I don't completely trust him yet"_

"_Did anything happen? Such as him receving a visitor?"_

"_No…wait. I was told that an older woman selling something was going through the area. She was selling flowers. I remeber her coming by here. I felt so bad for her that I bought half of what she had"_

"_Sasuke knew Kaori and Natara?"_

"_I assume so if he found out about his brother and all that" Nick started laughing_

"_I taught them well"_

"_What do you mean?" She opened her eyes_

"_Nothing important ma'am, nothing important at all" _

"The old woman!" Tsunade sat up

"Hokage?"

"That American realized something about the old woman! It was a disguise!"


	12. The Fight

Nick Adams stood outside Konoha with a cigarette in his mouth. His hands were in his pockets and watched the people as they went in and out of the village. After a few minutes an older man who was a little shorter than Nick came to stand by him. He put his hands in his pockets

"What are you doing here?" Nick blew a puff of smoke out

"Passing through"

"Where ya headed?"

"To check on Natara" There was a pause

"You think she can beat him?" Nick asked. The other man laughed

"What kind of question is that"

"Im just wonderin. You know she's made some mistakes in the past when its come to dealin with this guy"

"She'll be fine. You didn't train with her so you have no idea what she's capable of"

"That's true but does she?" The man smirked

"That's a better one. She'll be fine" Nick dropped his cigarette on the ground. The other man started to leave

"Tell her to be careful"

"Shes not the one who'll need it" The man mumbled then darted away

"I never understood how he and Stone became best friends" He said referring to Natara's dad "Oh well. I better go contact HQ"

* * *

This was it. Natara and Kaori stood inside a huge mansion. Natara wore a light blue sleeveless dress with matching heels with bangles on her arms. Her hair cascaded to her shoulders in not too tight curls. Kaori wore a red dress that was a little snugger than she intended. She also wore matching shoes with her hair in a bun. Both watched the guests move around, some talked others sipped their drinks but all were here to celebrate Moon's birthday. Mostly all of them were American and Natara could hear them complaining about how horrible the Land of Fire was. 

"Its been so long since we've seen the guy, how will we recognize him?" Kaori sipped some sparkling water

"Don't worry. You don't forget someone like this lunatic"

"Everyone please walk towards the ball room" They heard men yelling and urging the guests to move to the next room. Natara got the attention of one then asked

"Why do we have to move?"

"Mr. Moon is getting ready to enter, he wants to make an entrance" He moved on. Natara smiled. She pulled out her blue fan. She hit it once against her thigh and spikes came out of the ends. Kaori rolled her eyes

"I cant believe you really had a weapon made based off a video game. It really amazes me" Natara hit again causing the spikes to retract

"This coming from the lady who has knives under her dress"

"That's normal"

"We're both crazy. You know not one agent has gotten as close to this guy as we have?"

"Yeah but hopefully today will be the last time" Natara nodded then both headed to the next room.

It was a giant ball room with a big, glass chandelier hanging in the center. Elegant tables were set up for the guests to eat. Large windows showed the view of the garden. Natara and Kaori ended up at a table near one of the windows in the back. Since the tables seated six they had to share space with other guests. Just as everyone was getting settled there was a commotion in front. Everyone started clapping as Clark Moon walked inside. He was tall with dark hair. He wore a black suit and a smile on his face. After the clapping died down he took a microphone to speak

"I'd just like to say thank you to all of you today for coming. I really appreciate it. Sorry about having the party at such short notice here but I was having difficulties back home" He smiled. Everyone laughed

"I don't believe this. They know what he does and yet they act like nothins wrong with it" Natara whispered

"He's such an as…" Kaori started to say

"Shhh!" An older woman at their table gave them a mean look then turned her attention back to the front.

"I know this may sound whatever but I'd like to give whoever wants the opportunity to say something about me. Nothing long and while this is going on appetizers will be served"

"I'd like to go first!" Someone shouted. More laughter. He passed the microphone. Natara and Kaori ate until finally the microphone made it to their table. The older woman finished up what she said then looked around to see if anyone wanted it. Natara held out her hand _Its all or nothing this time_. She looked at Kaori who was sipping water. She nodded her approval so Natara stood up and started to speak

"Unlike everyone else who spoke Im not gonna kiss your ass" There was murmuring but Natara kept on "You've given my family and my country nothing but hell so Im here to end it"

"Who are you?" Moon asked

"Wait a minute" She climbed on to the table then looked him in the eye. His demeanor began to change as recognition came.

"Ahhhh Natara Stone, you've grown up" On hearing her name some of the guests grew fidgety "You came to wish me a happy birthday?"

"Yeah" She stuck her middle figure up then said "Happy Birthday" Kaori almost choked on her water then started to laugh. Moon was becoming visibly angry. He motioned for his guards to get rid of her. Natara looked down at her best friend

"You ready?"

"Always" She smiled

"Then lets go to work" Natara pulled her fans out and prepared to strike.

* * *

"This is where you stop" Itachi said. He and Kisame stood outside of a house in a large village on the border of the Land of Fire. It was where their leader stayed. 

"Let me come"

"I need you to find my kids Kisame" Kisame nodded

"Ok" In a few seconds he was gone and Itachi walked on alone. He didn't bother to knock, he tried the knob. It turned so he went inside. There wasn't much furniture. It looked like the Leader was preparing to move. Itachi took off his robe and hat, letting them fall to the ground. He made his way down the hall, finally seeing the door he wanted on his left. He slid it open. The Leader was looking out of a window with his back to Itachi.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Itachi didn't say anything but took his Akatsuki ring off and threw it on the ground "Whats changed?"

"Im not the same Itachi you met in the beginning"

"Does this have to do with that woman, Natara?" He didn't answer "Shes very pretty, aren't you worried about her?" Itachi smirked

"All this time that we've known each other and you still use those kind of threats, Im here to end this Madara" At hearing his name he turned around

"I had such high hopes for you and your brother but things never turn out how you expect. I cant stand Orochimaru" He snapped his fingers. Pein appeared with Nik, who was sleep or unconscious Itachi couldn't tell, in his arms. "Now this boy is worthy of the Uchiha name. He's only four, almost five, yet he can use his Sharigan exceptionally well. Even that daughter of yours is amazing. Its obvious you didn't train them because there are techniques both know that aren't nin-jutsu related" Itachi raised an eyebrow "You never asked your girlfriend who did? You shouldve, it'd be nice to know"

"Give me my son" Itachi growled

"I have a better idea, I defeat you and use him to carry on the glory of the Uchihas" Unknown to everyone was that Nik wasn't really sleep, he was biting his time until he could act. _I cant believe I got caught trying to find Natty. Oh well, Daddy will beat this guy then we can go get her. I hope Moms ok…if I wait just a lil longer then I can strike.

* * *

_

Meanwhile Natara and Kaori had easily handled Moon's cronies. Both though were scratched up. Natara's dress had a tear in the back while Kaori's had small cuts. The guests had already run away. Natara smiled

"Come on, you cant be serious. I know that's not all you've got"

"No its not" He took his suit jacket off "I remember when I first encountered you Natara. You were so young then" He smiled

"Jackass, while you're reminiscing don't forget that she was only five and you were using her as a hostage" Kaori responded

"Ahhh, that's right. Your mother gave me many problems. I thought using you against her would keep her away. It had the opposite affect and she passed on her dislike of me to you and your brother. That's why you became agents wasn't it? To kill me?" Natara shrugged

"If you wanna look at it that way but all I know is that there's too much talkin and not enough hittin" She took a fighting stance

"Be careful" Kaori whispered "Don't forget this guy isn't our ordinary character, who likes to shoot at us, he actually knows how to fight"

"That makes it better"

"So you want to fight huh? If I remember correctly I beat you before, so bad in fact that you were on life support at one point" Natara frowned at the memory

"That was then, this is now" He laughed

"That's right, you got some kind of training. Doesn't matter, the result will be the same"

"Kaori move" Natara said. She nodded then ran off to the side. Immediately Moon was behind her. Just as he was about to kick her she turned around, blocked it then kicked him. For the next few minutes they threw and dodged each other's hits. Moon pulled away and stood a few feet from her.

"Amazing, you've actually improved. Wont help you win though" He laughed

"Shutup!" She raced towards him. Just as she moved to punch him he grabbed her wrist then kneed her in the stomach and threw her across a table

"After we finish this little game I should visit your kids" That made her angrier. She jumped up and grabbed her fans. She threw both at him. As they flew towards him she appeared behind him. Before she could strike, he swiftly turned around and tripped her, caught her fans then cut her arms because she'd put them up to protect herself

"You should know by now you cant beat me Natara. I'll always be two steps ahead of you" He threw her fans on the ground. She jumped up angrier than before

"Natara don't! Remember what your uncle taught you!" Kaori screamed. Natara could sense the fear in her voice _She's right, this isn't getting me anywhere. He's purposely tryin to piss me off I need to concentrate_ She closed her eyes.

"Closing your eyes wont get you out of this" He smiled then said "I'll kill you with a butter knife" He picked one up then walked over to her but when he was a few feet away he could sense something around her.

"Interesting" he mumbled

"_Youre doing it again" He said. Natara was lying on her back, bruised, tired and angry. She looked up at her 'Uncle' as he stood over her with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Of course looking at him you'd be able to see obvious differences. Not only was he her Dad's best friend but also the person who'd trained her most "I keep telling you not to attack out of anger. It…"_

"_Clouds judgment. I know"_

"_Then act like it" He held out a hand. She took it. After she was on her feet she sighed "We'll keep doing this until you get it" He took a step back "Natara I understand how you can get mad during a battle, its happened to me many times. Ask your father or that clown over there" He nodded to behind her where her Dad's other friend had fallen asleep under a tree because he'd eaten so much earlier. "But when you get mad, it gets difficult to think. When it gets difficult to think then your opponent has the upper hand"_

"_Ok, Ill try to remember that"_

"_Good" He smiled "Now lets try it again"_

The aura that had surrounded Natara began to swirl around her. Moon stood back shocked. Kaori grinned. Suddenly she opened her eyes. The aura disappeared. For an instant her eyes flickered a different color then went back to normal. She held out her hand as what Moon thought was chakra began to form in it.

"What kind of jutsu is this?" Even though he wasn't a shinobi he had become familiar with the different parts of it. Natara simply closed her hand. The chakra burst from it, causing the windows to break and a huge gust of wind to push Moon back. She opened her hand again, then looked at him

"Now Im ready"

* * *

Outside of the house where Itachi was, Tony and his exhausted group finally arrived. They looked about, unsure. 

"Are you positive Tony?" Sasuke asked

"Yeah, this is where it stopped"

"Lets go check it out" Red said

"Its so quiet. I think we should find Natara's kids first" Sakura answered

"Believe me, if anyone can take care of themselves its those two" Tony said. He started to sense something was wrong. He looked at Sasuke who looked back at him. They both sensed it.

"Whats up?" Red asked

"Nothin, I think we should go check on Itachi"

"No" Kisame appeared in front of them "He wanted to do this himself" Over time Sasuke had become good at masking his emotions but now it was getting hard to, especially since he was starting to worry

"That was creepy dude. You just popped outta nowhere" Red grinned. "Whos he in there with anyway?"

"Madara Uchiha" Sasuke froze. Shock came over him. Sakura watched him. She had heard of Madara before. Tony and Red gave each other confused looks

"Ima tell you right now man, if this Maddie guy aint a football, basketball or even baseball player I " Tony crossed his arms

"Or skateboarder" Red threw in

"Yeah that too, then we don't know who you talkin bout"

"He's the founder of the Uchiha clan"

"Whoa, so he's somehow related to you Sasuke?" Red asked

"No duh Sherlock" Tony said sarcastically "What gave it away? His last name?"

"Man shutup, but that would have to make him super old. Like Super Bowl 1 old"

"Nah, itd be more like first World Series. Ever, old" They started to laugh. Sakura kept watching Sasuke. He started to run towards the house but Kisame grabbed his wrist

"No" He warned. Sasuke narrowed his eyes then kicked him into a nearby tree

"Oh shi…" Red started to say. Before Sasuke could run, Sakura jumped in front of him

"Please" she said "Stay here" It was the quick distraction Tony needed. He tripped him so that he landed on his stomach then he sat top of him, pinning his arms to the ground

"Look you need to chill. Theres a reason your bro wanted to do this alone" He said as Sasuke struggled underneath him

"You have no idea of what he's capable of"

"And you do? No offense but Itachi's the one who's been workin for him all this time" Sasuke started to calm down. He was quiet for a minute

"Fine, I'll stay here but will you get off my back" He growled

"Nope, I like it here and I don't believe you" Kisame walked up

"Dude you got the hell kicked outta you. Are you ok?" Red asked

"Been better" He looked down at Sasuke then at the house "Hurry up Itachi." He mumbled

* * *

Itachi was tired. He had been able to keep up with Madara so far but he didn't know how much longer he could last, especially using his Mangekyo Sharigan. _I cant keep doing this_. _Im losing chakra fast._ He knelt on one knee. Madara smiled 

"So you are finally losing steam? Good. I have other things to do today" Just before he moved to deliver another blow Natsuki appeared in front of her dad.

"Leave him alone!" She shouted. She balled one of her hands into a fist. 'Chakra' formed inside of it. Natty punched him in the stomach. He flew backwards threw the wall into the next room. Pein's mouth dropped open. His surprise gave Nik the opportunity he needed. He jumped out of his arms, kicking him unconscious in the process. He ran to stand beside his sister.

"What…are…you…two…doing?" Itachi whispered

"Don't worry Daddy. We'll protect you" Natty said

"Amazing. The Uchiha blood flows strongly through you two. Maybe I should add you Natsuki to my plans also" Madara stood, dusting himself off in the other room

"Whats he talkin bout Nik?" Natty whispered

"Don't know but lets shut him up"

"Ok!" Natty's eyes changed into the Sharigan. She raced towards him. He dodged her attack but as he did that Nik began to shape what appeared to be a ball of chakra in his hands. He threw it at Madara who thinking nothing of it tried to hit it away but when he did it exploded. He was thrown against the wall. Nik and Natsuki kept up their assault giving Itachi enough time to get some energy back. Seeing a kunai on the ground he picked it up and decided to try something new. He filled it with his chakra then he shouted

"Natsuki and Nik!" The two understood. They dove out of the way. He threw it. It landed in his chest. The chakra making the attack more fatal because as it entered his body it reacted violently with Madara's own, killing him inside out. At least it would have, unfortunately Madara had seen what he was going to do. 'Madara' disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Daddy!" He heard them yell but it was too late. Itachi felt something go inside him.

"Interesting move that was, too bad you were too slow" Madara whispered behind him then he pulled the sword out. Itachi fell on his knees. The last thing he saw was Nik's eyes change from the Sharigan form to another color and a bright light filling the room.

* * *

_Ok, he's keeping the formula somewhere but where? Whats the point of me killing him if I don't have it?_ Natara thought as she stood. She had just punched Moon across the room but now she needed the invisibility stuff or her mission would be a failure. Shed actually forgotten about it until he started bragging about it. She heard him laugh 

"Youre trying to figure out where it is aren't you?" He spit something out of his mouth "I'll make it easy. Its in a suitcase in my office"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because if you win then you can have it but don't think this is going to be easy" He raced towards her just as a small tremor shook the house. They stopped. Natara whispered

"Nik"

"That boy of yours is something else" Moon laughed then kicked her. Kaori got tired of watching and raced to help her friend. Soon she and Moon were going at it.

"This has gone on too long. He's good but not that good" Natara mumbled. She shakily stood up. She saw her fans on the ground. She picked them up then watched Moon and Kaori._ I can do this._ She ran towards him and prepared to strike but he saw her. He pushed Kaori out of the way. Natara threw one fan but he caught it and threw it back at her. It hit her in the chest. Kaori screamed. He laughed until he saw her appear in front of him. She smirked then filling her fist with chakra she punched him. Kaori had her hands over her mouth

"What was that? He got you"

"Come on, we studied ninjutsu for a little bit. Remember clones?" A silly smile came over her face

"Oh yeah…" They looked down at Moon. Kaori touched him with her foot

"Is he dead?" Natara asked

"I don't think so, though that hit shouldve killed him. Ive never seen you use that before"

"Secret weapon" She grabbed her fan "You get the invisible stuff?"

"Yeah, I used a clone too. While you guys were fighting I slipped off. It wasn't inthe suitcase in his office"

"I already knew that"

"I searched the whole house. It was under his bed"

"Really?"

"Yeah" They started to laugh

"Who puts somethin that important and valuable under their bed?" The house started to shake "We gotta get outta here"

"We look terrible" Kaori said. They looked at each other. They both were scratched up. Their dresses looked almost like rags. Kaori's hair had come completely undone while Nataras looked just as bad.

"At least our shoes stayed nice" Natara joked. Their shoes were the only part that looked the same "I cant believe we did this in heels" They started to walk towards the door.

"Hey if you could've taken him out like that before, why didn't you?"

"Part of me wanted to. I don't know"

"You've been hangin out with that crazy guy too long. Everyone knows he loves to fight"

"Maybe" She mumbled. Just as they got outside the house started to collapse. All the guests who had waited outside started to yell and scream.

"Sooooooo… you think he's dead now?" Natara asked. Even though Moon had caused her and her family so much grief she hadn't been able to kill him. She didn't have it in her but a house falling on him was another story

"Hopefully"

"Lets go get my kids. I have a feeling somethin's happ.." Natara started to say but fainted. Kaori wasn't surprised. She knelt next to her

"She's been pushing herself lately, hasn't she?" A man asked

"Yeah, I know she's exhausted. That fight took whatever she had left. Wait a minute who are you?" She looked up to see a familiar face. The man smirked then picked Natara up "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too Kaori. I simply wanted to check on my niece. That's all. Now get up. We don't have all day" Kaori sighed and followed him as he ran off.

A note from me: if youve ever played Mortal Kombat and have seen Kitana's fans then you what i was talking about. thats where Natara got the idea. a couple more chapters and the story should be finished. so who do you think the mystery guy is? dont worry i'll explain it in the next chapter(s). to all my loyal readers, thanks for hangin in there and i hope youve enjoyed the story so far. any questions send me a message


	13. Happy

Itachi heard voices. He recognized one belonging to Nik.

"Uncle do you think he'll be ok?"

"He should be" A deep voice responded "Ninjas are weak but not that weak"

"Momma doesn't want me to be a ninja"

"What do you want to be then?" Nik was silent for a minute then said

"A geneticist"

"What?! What is that?"

"A form of a scientist"

"You're too smart for your own good. Your sister told me of what you did to protect your father. Im proud of you."

"Really?"

"Yes and Natty didn't have to tell me. I could sense it"

"You could sense my charka all the way from where you were?" The man nodded then frowned

"It wasn't your 'chakra' I sensed"

"Oh yeah that's right…"The voices started to fade as Itachi fell into a deeper sleep. The next time he heard a voice it was Sasuke's

"You better not die Itachi. I don't think Natara could take it…or me" He paused "Even though we've had our differences and you've tried to kill my friends you're still my brother" Sasuke's voice faded as once again Itachi fell into a deeper sleep.

* * *

Natara sat on a small couch in Itachi's room, watching him sleep while Tony sat on her right and Sasuke on her left. Her brother's head was against the wall with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. Sasuke sat with Natsuki's dog. She thought if the stuffed animal was near her Dad, then he'd somehow wake up. All three were silent until Tony said 

"You should get some rest Sis"

"Im fine"

"Worrying bout him isn't gonna do anything"

"I feel better being here than anywhere else"

"So I guess the fact that Uncle had to carry you back here cuz of exhaustion doesn't matter huh?"

"Shut up"

"Awww and here I thought you were gonna cuss me out for just being a good brother" He heard Sasuke laugh a little. He opened his eyes to see his sister with her middle finger up "That's real mature Natara"

"Whatever"

"Im bein dead serious about this Sis so don't get mad"

"About what?"

"Have you thought about what you're gonna do if he doesn't make it?" There was silence "Cuz there's no way in hell Im letting you stay here. You need to be home"

"Thanks for the concern but I have no intention of leavin"

"What?! Why?" He almost jumped up

"Nik and Natsuki need to learn more about his…family and home" she looked down

"Who's gonna be here to look after you? You forget I just started college, Marcus is always disappearin and Julius…" He didn't finish his sentence. Their oldest brother had been in the Navy for a few years. Natara hadn't seen him in almost two. Every time she got a break from a mission he wasn't there or if he was able to come home she wasn't there

"How was he?" She asked referring to the last time he was home.

"Good, would've been better if you were there" He smiled "We pulled this prank on Pops"

"What else is new" she mumbled "You guys torture him" Her brothers had a habit of pulling over the top pranks on their dad. Since he was such a serious guy it made it all the worse.

"You shouldve seen his face. We made some fake tickets to a Yankees game since he was goin up that way with some friends. Marcus was able to make tickets for all of them then Julius gave em to him and made up some story about a friend not likin the Yankees and giving them to him. Pops bought it. Julius went on the trip with em but he had a real ticket. He recorded it when they got up to the ticket window and the chick said they're tickets weren't real. He was so heated. Julius went to the game while Dad and his friends stood outside pissed". Natara laughed

"Marcus mustve did a real good job. I didn't know he was goin to school to be a counterfeiter"

"All three of us got an earful when he came back" He paused "You still didn't tell me who's gonna stay here with you? Kaori is planning on goin back home"

"I'll take care of her" Sasuke spoke up.

"You don't have to"

"I know that but I want to. You'll need help and you three are family now"

"Thanks Sasuke" Natara smiled. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. Soon all three were sleep, Natara with her head on Sasuke's shoulder and Anthony with his head against the wall also but snoring. That's how she found them when she opened the door

"Guess they're all sleep" Sakura said as she walked in with her guest behind her. The young man with her looked exactly like Tony except he had curlier hair and wore dress pants with a white unbuttoned dress shirt showing his undershirt underneath. He moved with a confidence that Sakura noticed immediately when the Hokage had her take him to Itachi's room. Even though he looked like Tony he was different. Sakura found herself blushing when the Fifth had introduced him. What made it worse was the fact that Kakashi was right next to her but she wasn't the only one he affected. Even the Hokage herself had stammered over words. Actually he seemed to affect all of the women

" So this is Itachi Uchiha" He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the sleeping figure.

"Yes" Sakura answered. She glanced over at Sasuke who frowned. Sakura knew he wasn't sleep. The young man turned around to face the couch

"Who are you?" Sasuke said opening his eyes

"You'll find out in a minute" He smirked then walked over to Tony. He knelt down and covered his nose and mouth so he couldn't breath. He pushed the hand away

"What the f…"

"Wake up sleeping beauty"

"Whoa don't pull that, you coulda killed me" Tony gave him an evil look then went back to sleep. He smiled then turned to Natara. Sasuke watched him as he kissed her forehead and whispered

"Hey Angel Baby". She frowned

"Nobody calls me that cept my brother" Her eyes immediately opened. She shrieked

"MARCUS!" She jumped up throwing her arms around his neck and causing him to fall back.

"Take that playboy outside, Im tryin to sleep" Tony mumbled

* * *

The nurse walked to Itachi's room humming to herself. She'd be off in ten minutes and couldn't wait. As she opened his door she scanned the room then walked in. As she walked closer to the bed she realized it was empty and felt a breeze. The window was open. She groaned. He'd run off, the same as his brother had done a few years back. She walked down to the front desk and told the receptionist calmly 

"Itachi Uchiha is gone"

* * *

Itachi walked through what had once been his home. He'd gone through his, Sasuke's and his parents rooms. Their old home had so many memories. He finally stopped at the spot where his parents bodies were found 

"I wish I could change things" He mumbled as he looked around

"I thought you might be here" Sasuke appeared behind him "They never tore down the Uchiha compound. Its like a …" His voice trailed off. There was some silence then Itachi said

"Im sorry Sasuke"

"For what?"

"Everything. I tried to protect you" He sighed "But things didn't work out how I thought. When I found out about our family I didn't think I could continue to live. I miss them"

"Me too". Itachi turned around and looked at Sasuke. His brother was growing up. There were so many years with him that he missed that they couldn't get back. Sasuke walked up to him "Its ok to cry, I used to do it all the time". Itachi raised an eyebrow then pulled his brother into a hug

"I promise Im not going to leave you again Sasuke". He didn't say anything; he simply closed his eyes and remembered what it was like when they were younger

"Remember when I used to follow you everywhere?"

"Yeah, I'd get annoyed and tell you to go home then you'd start crying and I'd feel bad"

"I didn't cry that much" He paused "You're not bad for a brother"

"Same to you". Sasuke pulled away

"You should check on Natara,, angry doesn't describe how she was when I left"

"I will". They started to walk towards the door

"Do you know what happened with Nik?"

"No" He frowned "All I remember seeing is a bright light"

"That's what I saw. Anthony, his friend. Sakura, Kisame and I saw a light come from the house and felt what seemed like an earthquake."

"Did you ask Natty about it?"

"She wont talk about it. If someone brings it up she pretends not to hear them or changes the subject and Nik has been with some mysterious guy since you were brought here"

"Does Natara know?"

"Yeah" He yawned "She says he's a family friend and leaves it at that"

"I'll find out later, you need some more sleep Sasuke"

"I'll be fine" He allowed a smile "Hungry?"

"A little"

"Good, I know this ramen stand not too far from here"

* * *

Natara was past angry with Itachi but she didn't let it show as she talked to Tsunade outside of the hospital with Kaori 

"Thanks for all your help Ms. Tsunade" Natara said

"Your welcome. I became sort of attached to you when you were here"

"I know, I really appreciate everything"  
"Well if you ever need any help don't be afraid to stop by. I'd really like to know who trained your kids. They're a lot better than some of my top shinobi"

"Maybe I'll tell you sometime" She smirked

"Natara Uchiha I'll see you around"

"That's not my last name" Natara frowned. Tsunade glanced at the ring around her neck. Kisame had told her Itachi wanted her to have it so she put a string through it and put it around her neck.

"Im sure thats not where he intended for the ring to go" Tsunade smiled then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"So Mrs. Uchiha whats the plan now?"

"Be quiet Kaori, lets go find my idiot brothers"

* * *

The sun was starting to set as Natara entered her small hotel room. Natsuki was with her brothers and Red. Kaori was helping Nick find the agent who had betrayed them, Agent Walker, and no one knew where Kisame had gone. She sighed then moved to turn on the light but a hand grabbed her wrist. She almost attacked when her eyes adjusted and she saw it was Itachi. All the anger from earlier came back can she moved to punch him but he caught her fist then pinned her against the wall. 

"Get off of me Itachi! I was so worried and now you just show up like everything's ok" She kept wriggling but he had her wrists pinned above her head

"I didn't mean to do that, Im sorry"

"Let go!" Tears started to come down her face. He let go of her. She pushed him away "I thought you'd…left again" She started to walk past him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back

"I told you I wasn't going anywhere Natara and I mean it" He whispered. He saw the ring and pulled it from her neck. He took the string off then grabbed her hand gently and put it on her ring finger "Since you forgot, I'll say it again, Im not going anywhere" He wiped her tears away then kissed her lightly on her mouth. She put her arms around his neck, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back. He wrapped his arms around her waist then slowly led her to the bed.

"This is why I didn't want you to turn the lights on" He whispered in her ear. Natara felt herself blush but didn't have time to think as he started kissing her again.

Two Months Later

_Natara Uchiha sat in a large tree dressed in white pants with a matching jacket with a hood and shoes. She looked at her hands which were covered by white gloves then looked at the ground. She saw snow. She leaned back and sighed. It was so cold she could see her breath. She pulled the hood over her head then closed her eyes_

"_How long do we wait?" Sasuke asked in the branch above her dressed in a white ANBU uniform_

"_Patience" She replied. She had been asked to lead a team to Russia, to track down a man believed to be giving U.S. military info to a group there. Besides herself there were also three other guys. Sasuke had wanted to come since he was curious about exactly what it was his sister-in-law did. Her superiors would've normally said no but since Sasuke had become an ANBU captain (and the fact he was a ninja) they decided he had just as much experience so they agreed. They were outside of a huge warehouse that was on the side of a mountain. A small village was below it._

"_Hi I'd like to order a large pizza" A voice came over her and Sasuke's earpiece_

"_What kind sir?"_

"_Cheese"_

"_Would you like anything else?"_

"_Yeah a two liter of something to do" The voices started laughing. Natara rolled her eyes. Since many of the Eagles were under the age of twenty five, they had gained the reputation of being clowns. Indeed the atmosphere at their headquarters was relaxed, not like the CIA which plenty of them went into. They were allowed to play video games and watch tv when not on missions. The only time when they were required to be serious was when in front of superiors. Sasuke had learned this when he was allowed to go with Tony. Compared with ANBU there was nothing serious about the Eagles except how good of an agent they were. That was the only thing_

"_Would you idiots shut up?!" Natara said_

"_I would but Im so bored" Came the accented voice_

"_Joaquin think of a happy place" Tony said. Natara couldn't believe at first that she'd been allowed to work with her brother; usually siblings were put on different teams. She decided it must've been because this was her last mission. She had made that clear before they'd left._

"_You guys I cant feel my hands" Red whined_

"_You are such a …"_

"_Watch your mouth" Natara said_

"_Wow this is comin from the queen of potty mouths" He laughed_

"_Really?" Sasuke said_

"_Of course, that's what she was known for"_

"_You got a big mouth Joaquin" _

"_Im seein movement" Red whispered. Snow started to fall. Natara stood up_

"_You guys remember what you're doin?"_

"_Get the files and stuff he stole" Red answered_

"_And can someone please tell me why we aren't takin him out?" Tony asked_

"_Cuz the CIA wants to monitor him more, I don't know why. They're such idiots"_

"_Ten minutes" Natara said as she stretched. She looked at Sasuke. He nodded. They were doing the distraction "Lets go" They jumped out of the tree then she and Sasuke walked up to the door. She knocked then looked at her watch. An older man with a beard threw the door open. He wore a large coat and didn't look happy to be disturbed He eyed them suspiciously_

"_What?" He asked in Russian. _

"_Hi, Im hear to give you a warning" She replied back in the same language. He was surprised at first_

"_You speak Russian well, what is this about a warning?"_

" _From the people I work for. You're to stop buying military documents and files from your friend or you wont like the consequences"_

"_What?!" He was silent for a minute then started laughing "Little woman how dare you come here and say that to me!" He yelled for his friends to come to the door. That took care of any guards. Four men came crowded around the door_

"_What is it?" One asked_

"_She has told me to stop dealing with our 'friend'" The others started laughing. Sasuke frowned. He couldn't understand them and didn't like how they were acting. Red had offered to teach it to him since he had the Sharigan which would help him learn faster but he'd said no. He hadn't thought he'd need it_

"_You come to my house to threaten me so you and your partner will pay for your arrogance" The man said. He moved to grab her but she dodged it. That made him angrier. "Kill them both!" He shouted. Natara looked at her watch, time was almost up. She had to make this quick. Just as she and Sasuke were about to attack there was a large explosion. The men turned back to the building_

"_Shit! Natara, Sasuke move!" They started to run. They met at another large tree. Snowboards were waiting for them. Tony jumped out of the tree_

"_Why'd I have to watch these?"_

"_Stop whining" Natara punched him on the shoulder before grabbing a scarlet and gray one that had her name grafettied on the back. They heard what sounded like an engine racing towards them_

"_Snowmobile" Red mumbled. He threw goggles to everyone_

"_Are you girls waitin for an invitation? GO!" Natara said. Sasuke had a worried look on his face_

"_Dude all those lessons you were forced to take before the mission are gonna pay off. This is great!" He pulled out a camcorder._

"_Youre such an idiot and you know that's gonna be confiscated" Joaquin said then mumbled something in Spanish as he darted down the hill. Marcus followed. Red went next_

"_Come on Sasuke" Natara smiled. He went first then she followed him. "What did you and Red do?" She yelled to Joaquin_

"_Don't ask" . She heard snowmobiles coming towards them. She turned to look back. The man and his friends had gotten back up. There had to be at least ten guys following them. She saw a jump up ahead. She flipped as they went into the air, in the process she threw the three kunai she'd borrowed from Sasuke earlier then landed. She heard screams then crashes behind her. She smirked_

"_That was aweaome! DUDE you should've seen what your sister just did!" Red yelled to Marcus who wasn't paying attention because he was enjoying the snow too much "I got it on camera!". She looked at Sasuke who at first had been wobbly but seemed to like it. She heard more shouts in Russian. She loved her job…_

"Snowboarding…" Natara whispered as she slept. Itachi watched her. He smiled. He was finally happy. Having married Natara a month before in Konoha. Now they were in America at her parents house in the neighborhood where she'd grown up. He got up quietly then put on some pants and a shirt. He left the bedroom and walked down the hall that led to the living room. Tony was sprawled out on the floor with Natsuki sleeping right next to him. Marcus was sleeping against the wall. It looked like he was going to fall over. Sasuke had managed to get the couch and was turned with his back to everyone. He scanned the room for his son. He finally saw him sleeping in the big armchair in the corner. He walked past them to the door then went outside. The sun was just starting to rise as he stepped out. A cool breeze was blowing. He saw two figures standing on the grass talking, one shorter than the other. He walked up to them

"Ahhh, you're awake" Mr. Stone grinned at him. He was taller than Itachi and had a shaved head. Tony would call him Mr. Clean, not that Itachi knew who that was. Natara had to explain it to him. He had the bearing of someone who'd been trained which is what he'd found out when Itachi met him. He had been in the army while his son was in the Navy. Talking about the oldest son was a touchy subject for not just Mr. Stone but his whole family.

"Its about time" The other man mumbled. He was a shorter, tanned guy with spiky black hair. He wore a jeans and a white shirt while his friend wore shorts and a sleeveless black shirt( even though Mr. Stone was older he still looked young). "So did you talk to your wife?" He crossed his arms

"She said you'll take them for a few months"

"Bah! That's it?!"

"Yes, you're just training them".

"She didn't tell you anything else?" Mr. Stone asked

"No" Itachi wondered what they were getting at "Is there something I should know?". Mr. Stone and his friend exchanged glances then he said

"You never found out exactly what Nik did that day did you?". He shook his head "Its not my place then, talk to Natara". There was a pause. Itachi had decided he wouldn't bother Natara about it and that she'd tell him when she was ready

"When do they leave?" Itachi asked

"After their birthday party today". The twins had turned five a couple moths ago but hadn't been able to celebrate it so they were being thrown a party.

"Well now that that's outta the way, what do you want to do?" The shorter man asked

"Lets go to the park"

"What? Why?"

"So you can finally spar against my son-in-law. You'll see ninjas aren't that bad" Mr. Stone put his arm around Itachi

"You sure? It'll be short" The man grinned. He was cocky.

"Of course, what'll ya say Itachi?"

"Fine but don't cry when you lose". The man raised an eyebrow

"Wait! I wanna come!" Natara raced out the door wearing a scarlet tank and gray bottoms. Her hair was all over her head. She was in the process of putting in a poofy ponytail since she'd hadn't flat ironed her hair

"Come on then Angel" Her Dad said. Itachi smiled. She blushed

"Hey I don't want any lovey dovey garbage" The man said

"Uncle why are you always so grumpy?"

"Because its fun" He started to walk away. Mr. Stone followed him. Itachi pulled Natara closer to him and kissed her forehead

"You're in time to see me wipe the smile off of his face" He started to walk and pulled her along

"You have know idea of you're getting into" she mumbled. She looked at the ring on her finger then smiled.

A note frome me: yay! i did it, i finished the story. hope you liked it. i know i never revealed who her 'uncle' was but look at the clues and you may be able to figure it out. there are many hints. i chose not to end the story with telling where each person's life went and blah, blah,blah...i thought this was better. also i may do another story to go with this, a sequel i guess but im not sure. comments, complaints, then send me a message. thanks (oh yeah and did anyone notice the scarlet and gray references. im a Buckeye fan! Go Bucks!)


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